By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager
COLO SPRGS, CO (Oct. 13, 2023) – The U.S. Olympic Trials part one for Rifle/Pistol has concluded after an eventful week at Fort Moore, Georgia, Sept. 28-Oct. 3. With shotgun having finished their part one trials back in May, all three USA Shooting Olympic disciplines are one step closer to naming their Paris 2024 teams.
The rifle/pistol competition resulted in many notable finishes including Ivan Roe who placed first overall in both Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions and Men’s 10m Air Rifle. Roe secured his first place finishes by shooting the top scores in qualification relays in both guns. He went on to win the finals in each discipline. Roe is looking to make his Olympic debut in Paris 2024. Roe, and the rest of the rifle and pistol athletes have two more trials competitions to shoot in before the official team is named.
“It is extremely taxing,” said Roe when asked about the selection process. “You are trying to maintain peak performance for the entire time, but because it’s such a long process it’s very difficult. My last two attempts at making the Olympic team I wasn’t able to stay focused. I’ve been trying to pay more attention to my process instead of the result this go around, and it seems to be working,”
Sagen Maddalena, 2023 World Championship bronze medalist, also placed first in both of the women’s rifle events. Maddalena competed in her first Olympics in 2021 at the Tokyo Games. Maddalena and Roe are not only USA Shooting National Team members, but are both soldiers with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, headquartered at Fort Moore.
Nick Mowrer, a two-time Olympian, had an impressive performance at trials part one as well. He placed third overall in Men’s 10m Air Pistol and tied for fifth in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions. Mowrer shoots both rifle and pistol Olympic disciplines, a rare accomplishment. Mowrer is also a soldier, but with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, headquartered at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“The Olympic trials are accompanied with an odd feeling,” said Mowrer, a Butte, Montana native. “They are always different from the normal matches. You have the grind of normal competitions, like World Cups, that you are used to, but the trials, much like the Olympics, are just different in nature. Maybe it’s the conclusion of all the hard work you have put in over the last three years, but the trials are a steppingstone.”
A total of eight different events were shot, each with a final where the top eight qualifying competitors competed for first, second, and third place medals. Current overall standings were calculated based on the two combined qualifying scores plus points from participating in a final.
The following are the current overall standings after Olympic Trials part one:
Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions
1st: Ivan Roe
2nd: Tim Sherry
3rd: A tie between Peter Fiori and Matthew Sanchez
5th: A tie between Nick Mowrer and Tyler Wee
Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions
1st: Sagen Maddalena
2nd: Mary Tucker
3rd: Katie Zaun
4th: Gabriela Zych
5th: Molly McGhin
6th: Isabella Baldwin
Men’s 10m Air Rifle
1st: Ivan Roe
2nd: Rylan Kissell
3rd: Tim Sherry
4th: Gavin Barnick
5th: Brandon Muske
6th: Lucas Kozeniesky
Women’s 10m Air Rifle
1st: Sagen Maddalena
2nd: Alison Weisz
3rd: Mary Tucker
4th: Katie Zaun
5th: Jeanne Haverhill
6th: A tie between Kristen Hemphill and Gabriela Zych
Men’s 10m Air Pistol
1st: Jay Shi
2nd: James Hall
3rd: Nick Mowrer
4th: Samuel Gens
5th: A tie between Remington Smith and Timothy Schmeltzer
Women’s 10m Air Pistol
1st: Lexi Lagan
2nd: Katelyn Abeln
3rd: Suman Sanghera
4th: Ada Korkhin
5th: Nathalia Tobar Prado
6th: Lisa Emmert Traciak
Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
1st: Keith Sanderson
2nd: Henry Leverett
3rd: Austin Stone
4th: Pranav Kamath
5th: John McNally
6th: Blaine Simpson
Women’s 25m Sport Pistol
1st: Ada Korkhin
2nd: Katelyn Abeln
3rd: Lisa Emmert Traciak
4th: Lexi Lagan
5th: Abbie Leverett
6th: Nathalia Tobar Prado
See complete results here: https://usashooting.org/get-involved/events/
Shotgun completed the first half of their Olympic Trials in May of this year at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Part one trials yielded the current rankings:
Men’s Skeet
1st: Vincent Hancock
2nd: Conner Prince
3rd: Hayden Stewart
4th: Benjamin Keller
5th: Mark Staffen
6th: Dustan Taylor
Women’s Skeet
1st: Austen Smith
2nd: Dania Vizzi
3rd: Samantha Simonton
4th: Katharina Jacobs
5th: Alishia “Fayth” Lane
6th: Amber English
Men’s Trap
1st: Derrick Mein
2nd: Seth Inman
3rd: Logan Lucas
4th: Derek Haldeman
5th: Walter “Glen” Eller
6th: Matthew Killeen
Women’s Trap
1st: Ashley Carroll
2nd: Rachel Tozier
3rd: Ryann Phillips
4th: Carey Garrison
5th: Julia Stallings
6th: Alicia Gough
View full results here: https://usashooting.org/get-involved/events/
Olympic Trials part two for shotgun will take place March 11-17, 2024, at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club in Tucson, Arizona.
Rifle/Pistol Olympic Trials part two will he held this December at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, along with the first Paralympic Shooting Trials.
Find dates and details for the rest of the Olympic and Paralympic trials here: https://usashooting.org/save-the-dates-paris-2024-olympic-paralympic-trials/
About USA ShootingUSA Shooting, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation was chartered by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the Olympic Shooting Sports in April 1995. The organization develops and implements programs to promote growth in the sport and serves as a sanctioning body for local and national competitions. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, USA Shooting has a full-time staff dedicated to our sport.