The U.S. National Shotgun Championships in Trap finished with two new national champions, both of whom had to come from behind to claim victory.
For Alex Rennert, in a three-way tie for fifth after the 250-shot ranking rounds, he had to survive a shoot-off in order to get to the finals. He squeezed into the finals as the last qualifier, but then proceeded to hit 47 targets to outpace everyone and win his first-ever national Trap title.
“Winning a National Championship was an absolute privilege to have been able to share the Final with some of the best shooters our country has to offer,” Rennert said afterwards. “My [Army Marksmanship Unit] teammates, Will Hinton and Austin Odom kept the pressure on the whole final and I couldn’t be happier for all of us to have swept the podium. I couldn’t have made it this far without the support of the United States Army and the Army Marksmanship Unit.”
The women’s competition was another come-from-behind story. Julia Stallings tied for fourh in the ranking rounds, but then claimed 44 targets in the final to win over defending national title holder Aeriel Skinner (43) and three-time champion Ashley Carroll (34).
“This feels like a milestone and one of the many steps I have to take to get to the ultimate goal of becoming an Olympic champion,” Stallings said. “What it took to get here were a lot of tears, frustration, and ultimately patience to trust myself in hitting the target.”
The Mixed Trap title, in similar style, went to Caleb Lindsey and Emma Williams, who qualified in a tie for fifth, but then won in the finals, shooting 46/50 to edge Glenn Eller and Skinner (45). Summaries:
USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships
Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA) ~ 1-8 June 2019
(Full results here)
Men
Trap/ Final: 1. Alex Rennert, 47; 2. Will Hinton, 45; 3. Austin Odom, 36; 4. Sevin Layer, 29; 5. Derrick Mein, 26; 6. Jake Wallace, 19.
Trap/Ranking: 1. Sevin Layer, 244; 2. Austin Odom, 243; 3. tie, Will Hinton and Derrick Meion, 242; 5. tie, Alex Rennert, Jake Wallace and Derek Haldeman, 241.
Women
Trap/ Final: 1. Julia Stallings, 44; 2. Aeriel Skinner, 43; 3. Ashley Carroll, 34; 4. Kayle Browning, 29; 5. Corey Cogdell-Unrein, 23; 6. Madelynn Bernau, 19.
Trap/Ranking: 1. Corey Cogdell-Unrein, 238; 2. tie, Kayle Browning and Aeriel Skinner, 236; 4. tie, Julia Stallings and Ashley Carroll, 234; 6. Madelynn Bernau, 228; 7. Alicia Gough, 227; 8. Carey Garrison, 226.
Mixed
Team/ Final: 1. Roe Reynolds/Carey Garrison, 46; 2. Glenn Eller/Aeriel Skinner, 45; 3. Caleb Lindsey/Emma Williams, 33; 4. Brian Burrows/Kayle Browning, 31; 5. Seth Inman/Alicia Gough, 26; 6. Derek Haldeman/Ashley Carroll, 19.
Team/Ranking: 1. Caleb Lindsey/Emma Williams, 143; 2. Seth Inman/Alicia Gough, 142; 3. tie, Brian Burrows/Kayle Browning and Glenn Eller/Aerial Skinner, 141; 5. tie, Roe Reynolds/Carey Garrison and Derek Haldeman/Ashley Carroll, 140; 7. tie, Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas/Adriana Ruano Oliva (GUA) and Logan Bankard/Monica Dale, 136.