Davis Edges Bullard in Precision Class as Gill Runs Away with Sporter Crown in 2011 National Junior Olympic Air Rifle Championships

CAMP PERRY, OHIO – Connor Davis, the reigning National Junior ROTC precision air rifle champion, continued his winning ways at the 2011 National Junior Olympic 3P Air Rifle Championship here on 28 June but only by the slimmest of margins over Samantha Bullard.

Michael Theimer, USA Shooting Youth Programs and Athlete Development Manager, congratulates Connor Davis upon winning the precision air rifle championship. Theimer announced that Davis has earned an invitation to join the USA Shooting national development team as a result of winning the precision title.

The 18-year-old Davis from Shelby County High School Marine Corps JROTC, Kentucky, held off Magic City Gun Club’s Bullard, 16, of Morris, Alabama, in the final by a mere sixth-tenths of a point in a 1300-points possible 3x40 plus final match. Overall aggregate scores after 130 shots: Davis 1283.7 - Bullard 1283.1.

“I wasn’t too nervous,” Davis said as he entered the precision final. “I’ve shot in finals before but I‘ve never been in one that close though, she was only down a point. I had a couple of nines, but I was already in the final, so I just wanted to do my best, so whatever happened, happened.”

Asked if he had a sense of just how close Bullard was to him, Davis said “at one point I actually glanced at her monitor because she had it turned to where I could see it. I know it was a couple of points. That’s the only time I kind of looked, but I tried not to pay any attention because if you do, you start thinking about it,” he added.

Davis entered the final with a one-point lead over Bullard after 120 shots in the three-position event held over two days at the CMP Marksmanship Center and co-sponsored by USA Shooting. All participants fired the same course on Thursday and Friday, reversing relay order on the second day and culminating with the top 8-person final Friday afternoon.

Davis has been turning his attention to smallbore shooting in addition to precision air rifle. In April Davis became the new men’s 50m rifle three position National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships gold medalist.

Samantha Bullard surprised everyone, including herself, at just how close she came to knocking Connor Davis from the winner’s podium in the precision air rifle final. At just six-tenths of a point behind Davis after 130 shots, Bullard enjoyed a hard-earned silver medal.

Bullard shared her thoughts about entering the final being down by one point. “It was pretty exciting actually. I hate going into finals because we have to suit up and everything. After the two or three first 9s I shot in the sighters I kind of just cleared my head and relaxed,” she said.

“You can’t get mad. Actually I thought he was beating me by a thousand points. I thought I was going to be in third or fourth because of Daniel Lowe, but thankfully I bumped over it.”

Daniel Lowe, 18, of the Capital City Junior Rifle Club in Olympia, Washington finished third with an aggregate score of 1281.2. Lowe entered the final with a qualifying score of 1178, trailing Bullard by three points and Davis by four.

“I did a little victory dance in my head. I tried not to look back at the crowd. I’ve been in the JO the last three years and I think that helped.”

Bullard said she is looking forward to a return trip to Camp Perry for smallbore competition at the National Matches.

Bullard said she is looking forward to a return trip to Camp Perry for smallbore competition at the National Matches.

Place finishers from 4th to 8th were Mitchell Van Patten (1280.9.9), Heather Kirby (1280.9.8), Kelsey McHugh (1279.8), Jedidiah Huie (1279.6) and Patrick Sunderman (1278.2).

Maneva Gill, a 14-year-old from Vallejo, California, won the sporter air rifle championship going away in the final. Gill expanded her four-point lead to an eight-point margin in her first-ever final.

In the Sporter division, Maneva Gill, 14, of Vallejo, California, built a four-point lead after the 3x40 qualification rounds and doubled it in her first-ever final, firing an aggregate score of 1221.9. Aaron Ward, 17, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, had a rough start in the final but finished with a strong effort including a 10.6 on his last shot, finishing in second place with an aggregate score of 1213.9. Thomas Wheeless, 17, of Hampton, Virginia, leap-frogged from fourth to third in the final including two center 10’s and finished with a 1204.8.

“This was my first ever final at a match. I’ve practiced them at home but it was nothing like this,” Gill said later.

When asked about her state of mind as she extended her lead during the final, she said she tried to remain focused.

“Well I tried not to listen to what the scores were because then it would get in my head. It was really intense because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said.

Maneva Gill ponders her next shot during the sighting period prior to the sporter final. Gill set 6 national records during the competition.

Gill was just graduated from eighth grade from Vallejo Charter School and is going into high school in August and hopefully into precision air rifle as well.

“I’ll be graduating into the Academy of the Redwoods (Eureka, California) in Humboldt County. I might try to get a program started there.”

Sporter division silver medalist, Aaron Ward, said he knew it was unlikely he was going to catch Maneva Gill in the final, but psychologically pursued her to maintain his focus.

Ward, the sporter runner-up said going into the final he was worried about not having negative thoughts.

“At first I was worried, am I going to lose third place and not get a medal at all, then I decided I just have to focus on beating the person who’s in first place. It didn’t actually happen but it was fun trying. She’s (Gill) just 14 too, she’s going to get good.

“After a few shots I knew there was probably no chance I was going to beat her. But I kept trying. I was holding out hope that maybe she was going to crossfire or something.

Thomas Wheeless, the 2010 National JROTC sporter air rifle champion, jumped from fourth to third place to capture the bronze medal during the sporter final.

“Chasing her was the best way to make sure I kept my spot. My hold was very bad early in the final. I’m surprised I got the group I did. I managed to fire kind of dynamically and got it to settle down for a few seconds before I fired. I’m pretty happy with the way it worked out,” Ward said.

The 17-year-old high school senior at Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is going to focus on the Camp Perry open later in the year.

“I was trying to have fun coming into this thing. I think I did in six out of the seven stages,” he added.

Shelby County HS MCJROTC team won the precision air rifle team championship behind the efforts of Brandon Thompson, Heather Kirby, Connor Davis and Keri Marlin. Shelby, the high scoring scholastic team, was coached by 1st SGT Willie Brown III, USMC (Ret).

Among the 46 squads firing in Precision team competition, Connor Davis’ Shelby County HS MCJROTC team outdistanced Palmyra Green of Pennsylvania by 35 points with an aggregate score of 4685. Joining Davis on the Shelby team were Heather Kirby, Keri Marlin and Brandon Thompson. Shelby, the high scoring scholastic team, was coached by 1st SGT Willie Brown III, USMC (Ret).

Palmyra Green (4650 aggregate) was led by Alyssa Gestl, Nathan Brandeburg, Briann Derr and Elizabeth Embeck and was coached by Erin Gestl. The Taunton Wolf Pack of Massachusetts, coached by Kevin Winters, placed third with an aggregate score of 4649, just one point behind Palmyra, the highest scoring club team. Minnesota Centershots placed fourth and Magic City Gun Club of Alabama placed fifth

The Patriot 4H Shooting Club & American Legion Post 223 team of Virginia took top honors in the Sporter division. Team members are, from left, Joshua Black, Thomas Wheeless, Sarah Osborn and Timothy Teller. The team was coached by Lynn Wheeless.

The Patriot 4H Shooting Club & American Legion Post 223 team of Virginia took top honors in the Sporter division. Thomas Wheeless led the way as teammates Joshua Black, Timothy Teller and Sarah Osborn of Patriot 4H amassed 4331 total points. The team was coached by Lynn Wheeless.

David Crockett High School Navy JROTC of Tennessee placed second. Coached by John Roberts, firing members Shawn Wingerter, Jessica Kudera, Matt Hawkins and Jesse Adams scored an aggregate of 4273. Pelion High School, South Carolina placed third with a total score of 4258. Scott Miller, Derrick Brown, Clint Alama and Johnathan Stark of Pelion were coached by Ronald Dorsey.

Ankeny American Legion #42 SAL of Iowa placed fourth and King George High School Navy JROTC of Virginia placed fifth.

The South African National School Shooting Union sent 19 shooters, four precision and 15 sporter, to the Junior Olympic air rifle championships, providing the competition with not only a national but also international quality. In this photo, Michael Theimer, from USA Shooting, joined the South Africans for a group photo.

The South African National School Shooting Union sent 19 shooters, four precision and 15 sporter, to the Junior Olympic air rifle championships, providing the competition with not only a national but also international quality.

The SANSSU rifle coach, Anton Uys (pronounced Ace in the Afrikaans language of South Africa), brought one assistant coach and another parent to help shepherd the team that represented all regions of their country. SANSSU entered as an out-of-competition exhibition team.

Coach Uys said air gun teams in South Africa are rare compared to the U.S. and is a very expensive and highly-regulated sport. The South Africans performed well individually and in team shooting. In precision, Bartholomeus Pienaar scored 1174, and placed 11th in raw scoring. In a precision team exhibition, USA Team topped South Africa 4704 to 4607 in aggregate scoring.

In sporter air rifle shooting South Africa’s Jacques Pienaar scored 1200 points, Elandre Van As scored 1197 and Johannes Vos scored 1193, which would have placed them in fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively. In the team exhibition South Africa topped USA Team 4404 to 4381.

For more information and complete results of the 2011 Junior Olympic Air Rifle Championships, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=7132. To view photos from the Junior Olympic Air Rifle matches, log onto http://cmp1.zenfolio.com.

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