2004 Gary Anderson Invitational

By Written By Sommer Wood, CMP Writer

The Gary Anderson Invitational is one of the largest junior rifle competitions in the U. S. It began at the Wolf Creek Olympic Complex near Atlanta in 1997, but it was moved to the Army Marksmanship Unit ranges at Fort Benning, Georgia since 2002.

Colorado, Indiana, New York, Texas, and Wyoming were just a few of the places competitors traveled from to compete in this years Gary Anderson Invitational at Fort Benning, Georgia. Juniors, Collegiates, and their families traveled from all over the country to participate in the event which was held over two weekends, November 19-21 and December 3-5, 2004. Over those two weekends the GAI had more than 200 competitors, down 150 shooters from initial registration due to the Navy and Army JROTC stand-downs. Despite the smaller numbers the event was full of excitement and close matches.

The first weekend saw Sandra Fong of New York set a J3 (juniors 14 or younger) national record in precision 3x20 plus final with a score of 684.3. Robert Dow of Hillsboro, Oregon held the previous record of 674. By the end of the weekend the 14-year-old Fong shot a 571 with a 94.3 final to win the women’s 50meter 3x20 smallbore competition, finished 4th overall in precision three position air, and 5th in women’s precision standing.

16-year-old Jonathan Hall from Carrollton, Georgia won both the three-position and standing air rifle events at the Gary Anderson Invitational at Fort Benning.

On the final rely of the men’s precision standing event, Jonathan Hall nearly tied the J2 (15-17-year-old juniors) record of 593 held by Matt Rollins. Hall needed to clean his last two strings to tie the record, but when the 10 minute warning was called he still had 12 shots to go. “When I heard I only had 10 minutes left I was really nervous, but I finished out my 5th string with a hundred. I was in my last string when I shot a 9.9 and I knew I wouldn’t reach the record. Now I only have one more chance before I am moved up to the next age division to reach this goal,” said Hall. That chance will come December 11th-12th when Hall competes at the Junior Olympic Championships at Fort Benning. Despite missing the record Hall still had an outstanding weekend. He won the GAI precision three position and men’s precision standing events and finished 2nd in men’s 3x40 smallbore. Hall and teammates Kyle Phillips, Hunter Olson, and Pepe de Junco of the Wolf Creek Shooting Club were the first place team in high school precision standing with a score of 1516.

Ashley Jackson from the Ashland Eagles JRC won the women’s precision standing event after coming from behind in the finals to have the closest match of the GAI. The 16-year-old from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio trailed 388 to 390 behind Nikita Dees of Chilton County Shooting Sports, but in the final, Jackson shot a 99.7 to take the lead, winning 487.7 over Dees’ score of 487.2.

Georgia Tech sophomore Joseph Simoneau placed first in the collegiate division of the air rifle standing event.

The collegiate division saw another close match between Jason Labella of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Joseph Simoneau of Georgia Tech. Both had 577s entering the final of men’s precision event. Simoneau shot the highest final score of the day, 101.9, to take the win 678.9 to 676.3 over Labella. Labella came out on top in the collegiate men’s 3x40 smallbore, winning with a score of 1124 and a 95.5 final. Jeremy Drennan, Andrea Glynn, Amanda Diehl, and Reiner Bretch of North Georgia College were the top collegiate air rifle team with a score of 1465.

14-year-old Michaela Jochum from Beatrice, Nebraska won the sporter class 3X20 + final air rifle event. Michaela is shown here firing a precision air rifle in the standing event.

The JROTC presence was most missed in the sporter division where the number of competitors was down from previous years. Only 37 individuals and four teams competed in the sporter three position events. Micaela Jochum took a commanding lead on the first weekend with a 543 and 88.9 final to win the individual sporter three-position event. Luella High School won the Gary Anderson Award as the top sporter three-position team with a combined score of 1865. Team members Jonathan Harris, Kimmie Stewart, Rexx Hudgens, and Jeremy Weems were presented a Walther Junior Precision Air Rifle and case for their team.

The GAI Team Trophy is awarded to the winning precision three-position air rifle team. Woodward Academy from College Park, Georgia has won the trophy in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

The Gary Anderson Trophy that is awarded annually to the top three-position precision team was won by Woodward Academy from College Park, Georgia. Team members Dana Philen, Hunter Olson, Pepy de Junco, and Stephen Wilshire had a combined score of 2289, edging out Montgomery Bell Academy’s score of 2280.

Congratulations to all competitors, coaches, parents, and staff for making the 2004 Gary Anderson Invitational a great success. To see a complete break down of scores and events go to http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=388.


14-year-old Sandra Fong from New York City set a junior national record in the 3X20 + final air rifle event. She placed 4th in 3X20 air rifle, 5th in standing air rifle and 1st in 50m 3X20 air rifle.	The GAI offers air rifle and smallbore competitions for high school and collegiate division shooters. The 10 and 50 meter events are fired on Army Marksmanship Unit ranges that are fully equipped with electronic targets. The smallbore range is shown here.