SHOOTING: U.S. dominating Americas Championship

James Hall takes gold at the Championship of the Americas in the 10 m Air Pistol

The U.S. shooting squad figured to be the best coming into the 12th Championship of the Americas, being held in Guadalajara (MEX) and it is certainly starting out that way.

In the first four events of the tournament, American shooters have won six medals, including a 1-2 finish in the women’s 10 m Air Rifle from Minden Miles and Alison Weisz, and a gold medal from James Hall in the men’s 10 m Air Pistol. These were the first international medals for each, and Miles and Hall also secured a quota slot for the U.S. for the 2020 Tokyo Games in their events.

“Winning a quota in my first international Final is an amazing achievement!” said Hall. “After working the past two years with coach Libby Callahan, I felt like I really polished my shot process and felt strong going into the event. I felt like I worked through the match exactly as I have been training and was mentally prepared for it. [National Coach] Jason Turner gave me a great strategy to keep me calm through the Final, which totally paid off.”

Competition continues through the 11th. Summaries so far:

Americas Championships
Guadalajara (MEX) ~ 3-11 November 2018
(Full results here)

Men

10 m Air Pistol: 1. James Hall (USA), 240.9; 2. Jose Castillo (GUA), 236.6; 3. Philipe Neves Freitas Severo (BRA), 236.6; 4. Julio Almeida (BRA), 195.3; 5. Nick Mowrer (USA), 174.0.

10 m Air Rifle: 1. Alexis Eberhardt (ARG), 52.2; 2. Lucas Kozeniesky (USA), 51.7; 3. Dempster Christenson (USA), 50.9; 4. Bryant Wallizer (USA), 50.7; 5. Julio Iemma Hernandez (VEN), 50.0.

Women

10 m Air Pistol: 1. Lynda Kiejko (CAN), 235.2; 2. Lexi Lagan (USA), 234.2; 3. Diana Durango (ECU), 231.1; 4. Lilian Castro (ESA), 192.4; 5. Alejandra Zavala (MEX), 172.6. Also: 8. Sandra Uptagrafft (USA), 111.3.

10 m Air Rifle: 1. Minden Miles (USA), 248.4; 2. Alison Weisz (USA), 247.9; 3. Fernanda Russo (ARG), 226.2; 4. Gabriela Martinez (MEX), 205.2; 5. Michel Quezada (MEX), 184.1. Also: 6. Sarah Beard (USA), 162.8.