January/February 2011: Volume 19, Number 1 - USA Shooting

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had an influx of
Americans in the month of November, yet
these individuals weren’t tourists. They
were members of the USA Shooting Team
representing the red, white and blue in
the Confederaciòn Americana de Tiro (CAT Games)
or Championships of the Americas, an intercontinental
championship featuring North, South and Latin American
federations. The top podium finishers will earn 2012
Olympic quotas for their nation. With five quotas from
the World Championship, the USA was looking to grab a
few more Olympic quotas in the heat of Brazil. Jumping
out of the gate with the nine out of eleven shooters in
the finals, the U.S. was off to a terrific start. Spc. Matt
Rawlings won the first quota in Men’s 10m Air Rifle with
597 qualification points and 100.7 points in the final for
697.7 total points. Olympic Training Center Resident
Athlete Bryant Wallizer fired 591 points in qualification,
yet shot up in the standings with the highest final of 102.2
points. Wallizer finished with 693.2 total points and the
bronze medal. In Men’s 50m Free Pistol, 2008 Olympians
Jason Turner and Brian Beaman both made appearances
in the finals. Turner claimed top honors and the quota
with a world-class score of 568 points in qualification and
97.6 points in the finals. Beaman finished eighth with
631.1 total points. The U.S. was also well represented in the
Women’s 25m Pistol final as all three Americans qualified.
Libby Callahan shot 565 points in qualification and an
outstanding 202.5 points in the final to finish fifth. Teresa
Meyer shot for 571 points in the qualification round and
196 points in the final to finish sixth. Brenda Shinn tallied
568 points in qualification with a final of 197.1 points for
765.1 total points and seventh place.
The action heated up on the shotgun range
with Women’s Trap, the first shotgun event of the
championship. The American women brought home a
winner—three to be exact. Rachael Heiden entered the
final with 73 out of 75 targets and shot 17 out of 25 targets
in the final. Corey Cogdell shot 72 out of 75 targets in
qualification and made up the difference with a final of 18
out of 25 targets. Tied at 90 targets, Heiden and Cogdell
entered a shoot-off for gold and the quota. Cogdell won
after hitting four straight targets. Heiden finished with the
silver medal. Their teammate, Kelsey Zauhar shot 62 out
of 75 targets to tie with two other shooters for a chance at
the finals. Zauhar shot her way into the finals and fired 19
out of 25 targets to tie hometown favorite Karla de Bona of
Brazil. In a fight for the bronze, Zauhar beat the Brazilian
after just three targets; however, a single country sweep
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