SHOOTING: 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun) to be Held March 8-16 in Kerrville, Texas

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (February 26, 2008)-Top shotgun shooters from around the United States will be vying for spots on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Shooting (Shotgun) March 8-16, which will be held 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 and USA Shooting."USA Shooting is very pleased to be holding the Olympic Trials at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center, which has been designated as an official 'Olympic Training Site' by the USOC,"said USA Shooting Executive Director, Bob Mitchell."This excellent shooting venue is the result of a partnership between the USOC, USA Shooting, Hill Country Shooting Sports Center and the community of Kerrville, Texas. We look forward to hosting an exciting competition for our shotgun athletes."Shotgun athletes will be 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 second Olympic Selection Match, March 8-16. There are eight 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. Three-time Olympian and 1996 bronze medalist Lance Bade (Vancouver, Wash.) is currently standing in first place for Men's Trap with a score of 246, while three-time Olympian Bret Erickson (Bennington, Neb.) is in second place with a score of 244. Brian Burrows (Fallbrook, Calif.) is currently in the third spot with 242. Air Force shooter Michael Herman (Dayton, Wyo.), Derrick Mein (Walnut, Kan.) and another Air Force shooter, Dominic Grazioli, (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), are all tied for third place with 241 targets. In Women's Trap, 2004 Olympian Collyn Loper (Indian Springs, Ala.) is in first place with a score of 234 targets. Amanda Dorman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is currently standing in second with 233 targets, but is expecting a baby in April and therefore will not be able to compete at the Olympic Trials. Susan Sledge (El Cajon, Calif.) is in third place with 231 targets, while 1996 Olympian and U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) member Theresa DeWitt (Cincinnati, Ohio), is in fourth place with 230. Mimi Wilfong (Malakoff, Texas) is in fifth place with 227 targets, while Corey Cogdell (Eagle River, Alaska), the 2007 Pan American Games and World Cup Korea bronze medalist, and USAMU member Joetta Dement (Renton, Wash.) are tied for sixth place with a score of 226 targets. Two-time Olympian and USAMU shooter Glenn Eller (Katy, Texas) is in first place for Men's Double Trap with a score of 288 targets. Eller's USAMU teammates Jeff Holguin (Yorba, Linda, Calif.) and Josh Richmond (Hillsgrove, Pa.) are in second and third place respectively with scores of 286 and 278 targets. Bill Keever (Rutherfordton, N.C.), who is a 2000 Olympian and also a member of the USAMU, is in fourth place with 271. Bryce Gearhart (Freeburg, Pa.) and Gregory Patton (Williamsport, Pa.) are tied for fifth place with 268 targets. Eller, Holguin, Richmond and Keever dominated the podium in Double Trap competition on the international level in 2007. Eller claimed the gold medal at the World Cup in Korea in April as well as the World Cup final in October. Richmond took the gold at World Cup Italy in June. Richmond and Holguin also claimed the gold and silver in Men's Double Trap at the 2007 Pan American Games. Keever was the 2007 World Cup Korea bronze medalist. USAMU member Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.), who is the 2007 World Cup Italy Champion/world record holder and 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, is currently standing in first place for Men's Skeet with a score of 247 targets. Sean McLelland (Mission, Texas) is in second with 243, while USAMU member Mark Weeks (Clinton Township, Mich.) is holding third place with 238 targets. Clay Hart (Athens, Ga.) is in fourth place with 237 targets. USAMU member and 2004 Olympian Shawn Dulohery (Lee's Summit, Mo.), four-time Olympian and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Todd Graves (Laurel, Miss.), also a member of the USAMU, along with Frank Thompson (Alliance, Neb.) and Scott Schroeder (Niceville, Fla.) are all tied for fifth place with 235 targets. In Women's Skeet, Kim Rhode (El Monte, Calif.), is in first place with a score of 238 targets. A three-time Olympic medalist (1996 and 2004 gold medalist, 2000 bronze medalist) in Women's Double Trap, Rhode made the switch full-time to skeet following the 2004 Olympic Games after the Women's Double Trap event was eliminated from Olympic competition. Two-time Olympian Connie Smotek (Bryan, Texas) and 2007 World Cup Santo Domingo and Pan American Games gold medalist Haley Dunn (Eddyville, Iowa) are right behind Rhode in second and third place with 236 and 234 targets respectively. Shari Legate (Peyton, Colo.) is currently holding the fourth spot with 226 targets, while Laura Kolb (College Station, Texas) is in fifth place with 222 and 2007 Junior World Clay Target Champion Emily Blount (Tucson, Ariz.) and Ali Chiang (Redwood City, Calif.) are tied for sixth place with 219. To find a complete set of Olympic Team standings for Shotgun, please visit www.usashooting.org. 2008 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS-SHOOTING (SHOTGUN) COMPETITION SCHEDULE: Saturday, March 8 Men's and Women's Trap Official Training Sunday, March 9 Men's and Women's Trap Match-Day 1 Monday, March 10 Men's and Women's Trap Match-Day 2 Tuesday, March 11 Men's and Women's Trap Match-Day 3 Wednesday, March 12 Men's and Women's Trap Finals Thursday, March 13 Men's Double Trap Official Training Men's and Women's Skeet Official Training Friday, March 14 Men's Double Trap Match Men's and Women's Skeet Match-Day 1 Saturday, March 15 Men's Double Trap Final Men's and Women's Skeet Match-Day 2 Sunday, March 16 Men's and Women's Skeet Finals 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. News and results throughout the Olympic Trials will be posted online at www.usashooting.org. About USA Shooting USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. It is USA Shooting's mission to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. The organization implements and manages development programs and sanctions events at the local, state, regional and national levels. Website: www.usashooting.org