SHOOTING: Hancock, McLelland and Rhode Selected to 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Skeet

KERRVILLE, Texas (March 16, 2008)-The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun) concluded today with Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.), Sean McLelland (Mission, Texas) and Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) earning spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Skeet. In Men's Skeet, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Hancock, the 2007 World Cup Italy Champion/world record holder and 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, earned a berth to his first U.S. Olympic Team finishing with a total score of 511 targets. McLelland and USAMU member Mark Weeks (Clinton Township, Mich.) were tied at 478 targets going into the final, but McLelland earned the spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team shooting 24 targets to Weeks' 22 targets in the final. McLelland finished with a total score of 502 targets, while Weeks finished with 500 targets. Jon Michael McGrath (Tulsa, Okla.) finished in the fourth spot with 497 targets. USAMU member and 2004 Olympian Shawn Dulohery (Lee's Summit, Mo.) finished in fifth place with 496 targets, while Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.) took sixth place with 495 targets. In Women's Skeet, three-time Olympic medalist (1996 and 2004 gold medalist, 2000 bronze medalist) Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.) earned a spot on her fourth consecutive U.S. Olympic Team, finishing with a total score of 497 targets. Pan American Games gold medalist Haley Dunn (Eddyville, Iowa) finished right behind Rhode in second place with 496 targets. Two-time Olympian Connie Smotek (Bryan, Texas) took third place with 493 targets. Emily Blount (Tucson, Ariz.), the 2007 Junior World Clay Target Champion, finished in fourth place with 471 targets, while Brandie Neal (Spencer, Ind.) and Jaiden Grinnell (Port Angeles, Wash.) finished in fifth and sixth place with 467 and 461 targets respectively. The Trap portion of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun) concluded on March 12 with three-time Olympian Bret Erickson (Bennington, Neb./Muenster, Texas) and Dominic Grazioli (Myrtle Beach, S.C./San Antonio, Texas), along with (Corey Cogdell (Eagle River, Alaska) being selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Men's and Women's Trap. Two-time Olympian Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas) and Jeff Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) were selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Double Trap yesterday. The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Shooting (Shotgun) were held March 8-16 at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center in Kerrville, Texas. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Shooting is a collaborative partnership between the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Shooting. Shotgun athletes were selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team based on the aggregate score from both the Fall Selection competition, which was held last August and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Shooting (Shotgun). The USOC has final approval of all U.S. Olympic Team members. There are eight total spots available to the U.S. Olympic Shotgun team: Men's Skeet, 2; Men's Trap, 2; Men's Double Trap, 2; Women's Skeet, 1 and Women's Trap, 1. For complete 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Shooting (Shotgun) results, please visit www.usashooting.org. Media interested in more information should contact Mary Beth Vorwerk, Media and Public Relations Manager, USA Shooting, at (719)866-4896 or marybeth.vorwerk@usashooting.org.