“It was my first time shooting in snow so that was pretty exciting.”
There you have the highlight of the just-completed women’s Skeet final at the USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships at International Shooting Park at Ft. Carson near Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The 2017 World Skeet Champion, Dania Vizzi, 23, defended her 2017 national title in a shoot-off against 18-year-old Sam Simonton, 4-3, in what can charitably be called “unique” conditions. Besides shooting in snow for the first time, Vizzi noted that “I also broke two of my personal records so that was the biggest accomplishment for me. I thought it was pretty nice to see the target against the all-gray background, but I think the hardest part was my hands getting so cold. I’d be ‘Did I pull the trigger or not?’ The shootoff was fun and a good experience – especially with such a high score.”
In the men’s division, Christian Elliott won the 2017 U.S. Juni0or title and is now the U.S. national champion with a 57-54 win over Dustan Taylor. “I started out with two, 123s so that was really good to start in the top spot,” Elliott said. “Then it got dark, cold and the sun went away at the beginning of the Final, so I had to do a lens change. Missed a couple targets early, did the lens change, but then we were back on track.”
Katie Jacob won her second straight U.S. Junior title in Skeet and Eli Christman moved up from third last year to win with a sterling 58/60 performance in the finals. Summaries:
USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships
Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA) ~ 26 September-7 October 2018
(Full results here)
Men
Skeet/Finals: 1. Christian Elliott, 57; 2. Dustan Taylor, 54; 3. Zachary McBee, 43; 4. Will Thomas, 35; 5. Frank Thompson, 25; 6. Elijah Ellis, 17.
Junior Skeet/Finals: 1. Eli Christman, 58; 2. Nic Moschetti, 56; 3. Alexander Ahlin, 47.
Trap/Finals: 1. Caleb Lindsey, 44; 2. Roe Reynolds, 43; 3. Brian Burrows, 31; 4. Derek Haldeman, 28; 5. Logan Mountain, 22; 6. Logan Lucas, 18.
Junior Trap/Finals: 1. Dale Royer, 48; 2. Roe Reynolds, 46; 3. Logan Lucas, 35.
Women
Skeet/Finals: 1. Dania Vizzi, 57; 2. Sam Simonton, 57 (Vizzi won shoot-off: 4-3); 3. Austen Smith, 43; 4. Ari Montemayor, 32; 5. Caitlin Connor, 25; 6. Gracin Anderson, 15.
Junior Skeet/Finals: 1. Katie Jacob, 50; 2. Gracin Anderson, 47; 3. Karsyn Ross, 27.
Trap/Finals: 1. Aeriel Skinner, 44; 2. Emma Williams, 40; 3. Ashley Carroll, 33; 4. Rachel Tozier, 28; 5. Corey Cogdell-Unrein, 22; 6. Kim Rhode, 18.
Junior Trap/Finals: 1. Victoria Hendrix, 43; 2. Ryann Phillips, 41; 3. Heather Broski, 26.
Mixed
Team/Finals: 1. Brian Burrows/Kayle Browning. 44; 2. Jake Wallace/Corey Cogdell, 41; 3. Ryne Barfield/Rickelle Pimentel, 33; 4. Lance Bade/Kim Rhode, 29; 5. Logan Lucas/Ashley Carroll, 21; 6. Glen Eller/Aeriel Skinner, 17.
Team/Combined: 1. Eller/Skinner, 334 points; 2. Burrows/Browning, 325; 3. Wallace/Cogdell, 319; 4. Grayson Davey/Julia Stallings, 318; 5. Bade/Rhode, 318; 6. Lucas/Carroll, 306.
