Butte native on track for third Olympics

By Brittany Nelson, USAS Public Relations & Communications Manager

COLO SPRGS, CO (Oct. 13, 2023) – The U.S. Olympic Trials part one for Rifle/Pistol has concluded after an eventful week at Fort Moore, Georgia, Sept. 28-Oct. 3. With shotgun having finished their part one trials back in May, all three USA Shooting Olympic disciplines are one step closer to naming their Paris 2024 teams.

The rifle/pistol competition resulted in many notable finishes including Ivan Roe who placed first overall in both Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions and Men’s 10m Air Rifle. Roe secured his first place finishes by shooting the top scores in qualification relays in both guns. He went on to win the finals in each discipline. Roe is looking to make his Olympic debut in Paris 2024. Roe, and the rest of the rifle and pistol athletes have two more trials competitions to shoot in before the official team is named.

“It is extremely taxing,” said Roe when asked about the selection process. “You are trying to maintain peak performance for the entire time, but because it’s such a long process it’s very difficult. My last two attempts at making the Olympic team I wasn’t able to stay focused. I’ve been trying to pay more attention to my process instead of the result this go around, and it seems to be working,”

Sagen Maddalena, 2023 World Championship bronze medalist, also placed first in both of the women’s rifle events. Maddalena competed in her first Olympics in 2021 at the Tokyo Games. Maddalena and Roe are not only USA Shooting National Team members, but are both soldiers with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, headquartered at Fort Moore.

Nick Mowrer, a two-time Olympian, had an impressive performance at trials part one as well. He placed third overall in Men’s 10m Air Pistol and tied for fifth in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions. Mowrer shoots both rifle and pistol Olympic disciplines, a rare accomplishment. Mowrer is also a soldier, but with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, headquartered at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“The Olympic trials are accompanied with an odd feeling,” said Mowrer, a Butte, Montana native. “They are always different from the normal matches. You have the grind of normal competitions, like World Cups, that you are used to, but the trials, much like the Olympics, are just different in nature. Maybe it’s the conclusion of all the hard work you have put in over the last three years, but the trials are a steppingstone.”

A total of eight different events were shot, each with a final where the top eight qualifying competitors competed for first, second, and third place medals. Current overall standings were calculated based on the two combined qualifying scores plus points from participating in a final.

The following are the current overall standings after Olympic Trials part one:

Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions

1^st: Ivan Roe

2^nd: Tim Sherry

3^rd: A tie between Peter Fiori and Matthew Sanchez

5^th: A tie between Nick Mowrer and Tyler Wee

Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions

1^st: Sagen Maddalena

2^nd: Mary Tucker

3^rd: Katie Zaun

4^th: Gabriela Zych

5^th: Molly McGhin

6^th: Isabella Baldwin

Men’s 10m Air Rifle

1^st: Ivan Roe

2^nd: Rylan Kissell

3^rd: Tim Sherry

4^th: Gavin Barnick

5^th: Brandon Muske

6^th: Lucas Kozeniesky

Women’s 10m Air Rifle

1^st: Sagen Maddalena

2^nd: Alison Weisz

3^rd:  Mary Tucker

4^th: Katie Zaun

5^th: Jeanne Haverhill

6^th: A tie between Kristen Hemphill and Gabriela Zych

Men’s 10m Air Pistol

1^st: Jay Shi

2^nd: James Hall

3^rd: Nick Mowrer

4^th: Samuel Gens

5^th: A tie between Remington Smith and Timothy Schmeltzer

Women’s 10m Air Pistol

1^st: Lexi Lagan

2^nd: Katelyn Abeln

3^rd: Suman Sanghera

4^th: Ada Korkhin

5^th: Nathalia Tobar Prado

6^th: Lisa Emmert Traciak

Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol

1^st: Keith Sanderson

2^nd: Henry Leverett

3^rd: Austin Stone

4^th: Pranav Kamath

5^th: John McNally

6^th: Blaine Simpson

Women’s 25m Sport Pistol

1^st: Ada Korkhin

2^nd: Katelyn Abeln

3^rd: Lisa Emmert Traciak

4^th: Lexi Lagan

5^th: Abbie Leverett

6^th: Nathalia Tobar Prado

See complete results here: https://usashooting.org/get-involved/events/

Shotgun completed the first half of their Olympic Trials in May of this year at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Part one trials yielded the current rankings:

Men’s Skeet

1^st: Vincent Hancock

2^nd: Conner Prince

3^rd: Hayden Stewart

4^th: Benjamin Keller

5^th: Mark Staffen

6^th: Dustan Taylor

Women’s Skeet

1^st: Austen Smith

2^nd: Dania Vizzi

3^rd: Samantha Simonton

4^th: Katharina Jacobs

5^th: Alishia “Fayth” Lane

6^th: Amber English

Men’s Trap

1^st: Derrick Mein

2^nd: Seth Inman

3^rd: Logan Lucas

4^th: Derek Haldeman

5^th: Walter “Glen” Eller

6^th: Matthew Killeen

Women’s Trap

1^st: Ashley Carroll

2^nd: Rachel Tozier

3^rd: Ryann Phillips

4^th: Carey Garrison

5^th: Julia Stallings

6^th: Alicia Gough

View full results here: https://usashooting.org/get-involved/events/

Olympic Trials part two for shotgun will take place March 11-17, 2024, at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club in Tucson, Arizona.

Rifle/Pistol Olympic Trials part two will he held this December at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, along with the first Paralympic Shooting Trials.

Find dates and details for the rest of the Olympic and Paralympic trials here: https://usashooting.org/save-the-dates-paris-2024-olympic-paralympic-trials/