Horner, Miculek-Afentul Repeat as 3GN Champions 3GN Shoot-Off Culminates 3GN Championship & Shooting Sports Expo
OutdoorHub 10.23.15
U.S. Shooting Academy (Tulsa, OK) – Daniel Horner and Lena Miculek-Afentul successfully defended their 3GN Championship titles, running the tables at the 3GN Pro Series and 3GN Lady Pro Series Championship.
For the win, Horner took home $50,000 from Leupold Optics and NRA Sports, while Miculek-Afentul earned $25,000 from Samson Manufacturing.
Horner first squared off against Pro Series rookie Josh Wakamatsu in the first matchup of the tournament, the top seed eliminating the number eight seed two bouts to none in this best-of-three format. Next came John McClain, who Horner again defeated two bouts to none to advance to the 3GN Championship finals against Armalite’s Greg Jordan.
Editor’s note: you can see some of the action from the event in the video below.
There, the two favorites locked horns in an exciting duel, with Horner winning the first bout, while Jordan punched back and took the second bout, setting up a dramatic third and final run to decide the matchup. There, Jordan and Horner were even through the first shotgun array until the final clay target, where Jordan hesitated when attempting to call his last shot. The target proved to be true, but the damage was done, as Horner built a lead he was able to hold through the rifle and pistol arrays for the deciding win.
Jordan’s finals began with a matchup with teammate and fellow past 3GN Champion Tommy Thacker, a rematch from last year’s tournament. And like in 2014, the first bout was close, the second one a little more in Jordan’s favor, as Jordan advanced into the second round in straight bouts.
In the second round, Jordan was challenged by second seeded Nick Atkinson, who was on a hot streak coming into the finals and looked to be one to watch outside Horner and Jordan. Atkinson lived up to the billing, taking a bout from Jordan and forcing a tie-breaking matchup, before Jordan advanced.
In other Shoot-Off action, Atkinson won an exciting three-bout matchup over Mark Hanish in the first round, while John McClain survived a Brian Nelson miscue to advance over the 18-year-old junior speedster.
In the finals of the 3GN Lady Pro Series Championship, Lena topped rising star, and number one seed, Ashley Rheuark, two bouts to none to continue her dominance in the 3GN Lady Shoot-Off. A rematch from their earlier Lady Pro Series matchup this season, where the junior Rheuark pulled an upset win, this time it was all Miculek-Afentul on her way to winning a third straight title.
Lena advanced to the finals after a dominating performance over her mother, Kay, where the younger Miculek built big leads on the shotgun array before looking sharp on rifle and pistol in each run. Rheuark advanced into the finals with an equally dominating performance over Randi Rogers, two bouts to none, setting up the matchup with Lena.
While the 2015 Pro Series provided incredible action, and many dramatic upsets along the way, in the end, the Pro Series Championship was marked by four competitors maintaining their clear edge over the field—Horner and Jordan on the men’s side; Lena and Rheuark in the lady division.
Look for more Pro Series coverage, along with an exclusive report on 3GN Nationals, along with more coverage of the entire 3GN Championship & Shooting Sports Expo, all this week on 3GunNation.com, and in the upcoming issue of 3GN Magazine.
