Contact:
Jessica Delos Reyes
jessica.delosreyes@usashooting.org
USA Shooting

Jack Leverett III Wins Men's Air Pistol Gold at NJOSC

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - The Men's Air Pistol competition concluded today at the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) with 17-year-old Jack Leverett III (Bainbridge, Georgia, right) winning gold in the event.

Leverett entered the Final just one point ahead of eventual silver medalist Charles Platt (Colorado Springs, Colorado). Though athletes in the Final only earned points based on placement in the Final (one point for eighth place, two for seventh and so on) to be added to their two days of Qualification, Leverett won the overall gold by two points, despite a dominating performance in a Final which he won by 4.3 points.

With their gold and silver finishes, Leverett and Platt earned themselves nominations to the USA Shooting Team for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championship for Rifle/Pistol in Suhl, Germany later this summer.

"It was just another match and another Final," Leverett said nonchalantly. "I'm now excited though to go to somewhere I've never been before."

Leverett's younger brother, Henry, won the overall bronze in Men's Air Pistol.

Winning gold in the J2 age category was Hunter Battig (Woodland Park, Colorado). Silver went to Bryston McPherson (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and bronze went to Brandon Choi (La Crescenta, California).

Paul Kang (Los Angeles, California), the youngest competitor in the competition at 12 years old, won gold in the J3 age category. Ryan Yi (Diamond Bar, California) took home the silver medal and Dennis Lee (Yorba Linda, California) won bronze.

Women's Sport Pistol also held its match to select World Championship team members today with yesterday's NJSOC champion Katelyn Abeln (Douglasville, Georgia) coming out on top once again.

"I'm excited (to go to the World Championship), words can't even describe it!" Abeln said. "I'm nervous because it will be my first international match and I've never been out of the country for shooting before."

Also, earning a nomination to the World Championship team is Sarah Choe (Los Angeles, California), who finished in second place in today's selection and won bronze yesterday in NJOSC competition. Carson Saabye (Larkspur, Colorado) finished in third place. Athletes shot another Qualification match today, with those scores added to the Qualification scores from yesterday's NJOSC competition. The top-eight overall athletes advanced to today's Final for team selection.

Competition continues tomorrow with the start of Men's Sport Pistol and Women's Air Pistol.

By the conclusion of NJOSC, more than 790 athletes will have made their way through the U.S. Olympic Training Center to compete in NJOSC competition in 2017. Athletes invited to Colorado Springs comprise the top tier of athletes that competed in a state level events totaling 2,658 competitors. The NJOSC features the top 30 percent of all competitors in 2017 and will feature Invitees that either won their state championship or were selected based on a score they attained. The competitors range in age from 10 to 20 years old, and are classified per age as J1 (ages 18-20), J2 (ages 15-17) or J3 (ages 14 and younger).

Results from Men's Air and Women's Sport Pistol:http://www.usashooting.org/library/Competitions/0_2017/RP_JO/Results/Pistol/Pistol_Day_2.pdf.

View and download photos from today's competition:https://flic.kr/s/aHskVgkKUM.

ELEYELEY is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Teams: ELEY Limited, manufacturer of the world's most consistently accurate rimfire ammunition, has been the Official Sponsor and Official Supplier of .22 rimfire ammunition of the USA Shooting rifle and pistol teams since 2000. For more information on ELEY and their products, please visit eley.co.uk.

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Winchester Ammunition is a Proud Sponsor of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team: WinchesterÆ Ammunition has been the exclusive ammunition sponsor and supplier of the USA Shooting Shotgun Team since 1999. Members of the past two shotgun teams brought home a combined six medals from London and Beijing using Winchester AA International Target loads. Winchester is an industry leader in advancing and supporting conservation, hunter education and our country's proud shooting sports heritage. For more information about Winchester and its complete line of products, visit winchester.com.

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USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting's mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.