Eller Wins Double Trap Title at National Championships
OutdoorHub 08.11.14
Glenn Eller saw a lot of targets over the past two days at the USA Shooting National Championships for Shotgun.
No really, it was a lot:
- 300 targets over two days of Qualification
- A Finals competition each day
- 112-target shootoff yesterday
- And a 30-target shootoff today.
Once the orange dust had settled, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and reigning World Champion would stand atop the podium to win his first National Championship title in Double Trap since 2010.
At last year’s National Championships, Eller (U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit/Houston) finished in fourth place. Ever since, he’s been building on each performance; including winning a gold medal at the 2013 Fall Selection, and silver medals at the 2013 World Cup Finals and World Cup Munich this year. Eller, along with silver medalist Jeff Holguin (USAMU/Yorba Linda, California) and fourth-place finisher Josh Richmond (USAMU/Hillsgrove, Pennsylvania) will represent the United States at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship in Granada, Spain next month.
USAMU teammate Derek Haldeman (Sunbury, Ohio) surged into third to grab the bronze medal with a one-point advantage over Richmond due to his wins in the two Finals. Double Trap National Champions were determined by targets hit over the two days of competition, plus additional points earned for finish in each of the day’s Finals: Five for first place, four for second, and so on down to one point for fifth and sixth place.
Ian Rupert (Muncy, Pennsylvania) would grab the Junior Double Trap title with Christopher Webster (Bainbridge, Georgia) claiming the silver medal and Logan Mountain (Palmdale, California) winning the bronze. By virtue of his second-place finish, Webster also earned an appointment to the Junior National Team. Rupert will also compete at the World Championship next month as a member of the Junior Men’s Double Trap team.
Besides the honor of Nationals hardware, this year’s Championships serves as chapter one of a two-part selection process for 2015 ISSF World Cups that include Mexico (March), United Arab Emirates (March), Cyprus (April) and Azerbaijan (August). Scores will carry over to the Fall Selection Match in Tillar, Arkansas in November, and the cumulative point totals from the two matches will be used to select 2015 World Cup participants.
Skeet competition rolled to its halfway point today with its first Finals of these National Championships. Currently leading the Men’s competition is World Championship team member Dustin Perry (Lovelady, Texas), followed one point behind by Phillip Jungman (Caldwell, Texas), Hayden Stewart (USAMU/Columbia, Tennessee) and Mark Weeks (USAMU/Phenix City, Alabama) who are tied for second place. Currently in third is Will Thomas (West Des Moines, Iowa) who is just one point behind them.
Currently leading on the Women’s side is Morgan Craft (Muncy, Valley, Pennsylvania), followed two points behind by five-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode (El Monte, California) in second place. Brandy Drozd (Bryan, Texas) sits another two points behind Rhode in third place. Skeet competition continues through Sunday.
View complete results from the USA Shooting National Championships for Shotgun thus far here.
Contact:
Jessica Delos Reyes
719-866-4896
Jessica.delosreyes@usashooting.org
