COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (April 22, 2018)
The top qualifiers nationally for the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) in Women’s Sport Pistol and Men’s Air Pistol asserted their dominance all the way to the top of the NJOSC podium today as Sarah Choe and Jack Leverett III won gold in Women’s Sport Pistol and Men’s Air Pistol at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs.
Choe (Los Angeles, California) was the top Women’s Sport Pistol qualifier nationally with a score of 573. She was also last year’s top qualifier and she earned a bronze medal at NJOSC in 2017. On both days of Qualification at this year’s match, Choe earned the highest score (571, 569) and won today’s Final to earn an additional eight points that would be added to her two-day total.
“Even being ahead, it’s the same kind of pressure all the way to the end, just wanting to do your best,” Choe said modestly.
While the athletes competing at NJOSC had their sights set on earning medals and National Junior Team nominations, they were also competing for the chance to represent the United States at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship August 31 – September 14 in Changwon, South Korea. For more information on World Championship Team selection procedures for Junior athletes, click here. [1]
Katelyn Abeln (Douglasville, Georgia) took the silver today in the Women’s Sport Pistol competition. She was the 2017 NJOSC champion in this event and had already punched her ticket to the World Championship on the Open (adult) team with her finish in the two-part World Championship Team selection process.
“My shoulder hurt the whole match so it was a bit of a struggle, but I pulled through,” Abeln
