Olympians Emmons, McPhail and Furrer Earn World Cup Spots at Winter Selection Match

USA Shooting
USA Shooting
USA Shooting

Colorado Springs, CO -(Ammoland.com)- With eyes on securing Olympic quotas in 2015, Olympians Matt Emmons, Michael McPhail and Amanda Furrer were among the seven athletes to earn a World Cup spot for April’s season-opener in Changwon, Korea during last week’s Winter Selection Match.

This Selection Match hosted at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado was used to determine the Three-Position and Prone Rifle competitors for the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Korea, April 8-16, as well as serve as Part 1 of the selection process for the smallbore rifle teams at the World Cups in Fort Benning, Georgia and Munich, Germany in May.

Michael McPhail
Michael McPhail

World Cups have added significance for these rifle athletes in 2015 as the four ISSF World Cups and the Pan American Games mark the remaining opportunities for athletes to earn quota slots for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Emmons along with South Dakota sharpshooter Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls) earned two nominations each in Prone and Three-Position. Emmons was spectacular throughout beating the Finals National Record score in Prone Day 1 and topping a world-record Finals score in Three-Position on his way to a 20-point victory in that event.

McPhail was similarly impressive in Prone edging Emmons by nearly seven points off the strength of a day one performance that saw him eclipse a world-record score in qualifying. The surprise of the match was turned in by Texas Christian University junior Hannah Black (Richmond, Virginia) who got hot at the right time to earn top position in Women’s Three-Position. The 591 she shot on her second day of competition was one off the pace of the world record and 12 points higher than her day one score.

The women’s event was easily the most tightly contested of any event all week. Furrer made the team over West Virginia University freshman Elizabeth Gratz (Sigel, Illinois) by virtue of 10 more center-10s after the two tied in overall score. Amy Sowash (Richmond, Kentucky) finished second.

A similar pistol selection camp and match will be held in late February in Colorado Springs to determine pistol competitors for the Changwon World Cup in Rapid Fire, Free and Sport Pistol events. Air Rifle and Pistol competitors for the Changwon World Cup were selected at the Winter Airgun Championships in Colorado Springs in December.

World Cup Changwon Rifle Athletes*

Air Rifle
  • Ryan Anderson (Wasilla, Alaska)
  • Bryant Wallizer (Little Orleans, Maryland)
  • Dan Lowe (USAMU/Olympian, Washington)
  • Sarah Osborn (Hampton, Virginia)
  • Sarah Beard (Danville, Indiana)
  • Emily Quiner (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota)
Men’s Prone
  • Michael McPhail (USAMU/Darlington, Wisconsin)
  • Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, New Jersey)
  • Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Three-Position
  • Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, New Jersey)
  • Dempster Christenson (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
  • George Norton (USAMU/Columbus, Georgia)
  • Hannah Black (Richmond, Virginia)
  • Amy Sowash (Richmond, Kentucky)
  • Amanda Furrer (Spokane, Washington)

* Earning World Cup spots in Selection Matches doesn’t automatically guarantee USA Shooting funding or participation as minimum performance standards have been established. Athletes having not met standards, must self-fund. For more info on PSS, click here.

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