COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (February 10, 2019)
The nearly week-long rifle competition known as the Robert Mitchell Rifle Championships concluded today at the Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs with titles awarded in the Men’s and Women’s Air and Three-Position Rifle events.
The annual rifle-only match attracted nearly 60 athletes from North and South America looking to start the year strong before the 2019 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) competition seasons begin. Air and Three-Position Rifle each consisted of two days of Qualification, plus a Final based on the two-day Qualification score for each event.
The Women’s Air Rifle podium looked remarkably like the one in November at the Championship of the Americas in Mexico as Mindy Miles (Weatherford, Texas) once again won gold and Ali Weisz (Belgrade, Montana) once again won silver. Junior athlete Macey Way (Colorado Springs, Colorado) won the bronze. In the Junior Women’s Air Rifle event, Way won gold, Emily Stith (Jacksonville, Florida/U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit) won silver and Morgan Kreb (Colorado Springs, Colorado) won bronze.
On the men’s side, 2016 Olympian Lucas Kozeniesky (Fairfax, Virginia, pictured) won the gold medal, Patrick Sunderman (Farmington, Minnesota/USAMU) won silver and Junior athlete Brandon Mach (Riley Township, Michigan) won bronze. For the Junior Men, Gavin Barnick (Mora, Minnesota) won gold, Brendan Seitz (Milford, Massachusetts) won silver and Benjamin Vogrin (Colorado Springs, Colorado) won bronze.
The Men’s Three-Position Rifle competition saw world-class scores posted form several finalists, including an impressive 1178 on the first day of Qualification from eventual gold medalist Kozeniesky, who claimed his second individual gold medal of the match. Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls, South
