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By Michael Molinaro
USAMU PAO

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Cpl. Matt Rawlings, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, competes in the first of two U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Air Gun Dec. 3 at the Civilian Marksmanship Program's South Facility in Anniston, Al. Rawlings currently is positioned in first place after two days of competition. The final two days will take place in February, where the top two shooters will earn positions on the U.S. Olympic team. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

United States Army Marksmanship Unit

FORT BENNING, Ga. --(Ammoland.com)- A Soldier from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit put himself in solid position to fulfill his Olympic dream after the first of two U.S. Olympic Team Trial matches for Air Gun.

Cpl. Matt Rawlings left the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s South facility in Anniston, Al. Dec. 4 in first place in Men’s Air Rifle after posting a two-day combined score of 1297.2. The current National Champion’s hard work and determination was on full display at the trials.

“Going into the trials I was prepared and confident,” Rawlings said. “I expected to do well and have some success. One of the most important things I have learned is that there will always be another day and if you make a match bigger than it is you can easily become overwhelmed.”

Rawlings recently won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Air Rifle and is peaking at the right time. There’s a natural correlation between soldiering duties and athletic success as both require self-determination, physical discipline and mental agility to succeed. Rawlings said his duties with the unit and the upcoming holidays will take him off the gun for a few weeks but is focused on the task at hand.

“Being in the Army has helped me gain confidence in myself to do anything I set out to accomplish,” Rawlings said. “The best thing I could have done for my shooting is join this great unit. Every day I train, I know that I will be shooting among the best in the nation and the world.”

Fellow USAMU Soldiers Cpt. Christopher Abalo and Staff Sgt. Henry Gray also competed in the match and are vying for Olympic team slots. Abalo is currently in fifth place and Gray stands at 11th after the first leg. The top two shooters at the completion of the second leg will earn a spot on the Olympic team.

The second and final part of the air gun trials will be Feb. 24-26 at the CMPs North facility at Camp Perry, Ohio.

FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Cpl. Matt Rawlings, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, stares down a target Dec. 3 at the Civilian Marksmanship Program's South Facility in Anniston, Al. Rawlings was competing in the first of two U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Air Gun and came out in first place after two days of competition. The final two days will take place in February, where Rawlings could cement his position on the U.S. Olympic team. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

About USAMU:
The USAMU enhances the Army’s recruiting effort, raises the standard of the Army’s marksmanship proficiency, and supports the Army’s small arms research and development initiatives in order to raise the Army’s overall combat readiness. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, contact the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-5436, Michael.Molinaro@usaac.army.mil or www.USAMU.com.

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USA Shooting

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --(Ammoland.com)- The leaders have emerged from the first part of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Airgun at the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) South Marksmanship Center in Anniston, Ala.

The scores from the first part will be combined with those of the second part, which will be held the CMP’s North Marksmanship Center in Camp Perry, Ohio from Feb. 23-26. Olympic Team selection will be based on the aggregate of four courses of fire and two best finals.

Sergeant First Class Daryl Szarenski (Seale, Ala.) broke a USA Shooting (USAS) National Record in Men’s 10m Air Pistol qualification. Szarenski shot an impressive 590 out of a possible 600 match points in the first day of qualification.

The former record, 589 points set by Reuben Hafter, has been in place since 1990. Szarenski continued to excel with the highest final of 101.8 points in the first match day for another new national record (with finals) of 691.8 total points. After two days of shooting, he leads the field by over 18 points with an aggregate score of 1275.8 points. Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with 1257.5 points (including his best final of 100.5 points). Will Brown (Twins Falls, Ida.) is tailing Turner by just six-tenths of a point at 1256.9 points.

In Men’s 10m Air Rifle, Corporal Matt Rawlings (Wharton, Texas) of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) fired 595 match points in the second day for an aggregate total of 1297.2 points. Matt Emmons (Browns Mills, N.J.) is less than two points behind with 596 match points for 1295.6 points overall. Jonathan Hall (Carrollton, Ga.) is keeping chase with 1293.3 aggregate points.

Sarah Scherer (Woburn, Mass.) and Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) are deadlocked at 898 aggregate points in Women’s 10m Air Rifle. Oddly enough in a game of tenths, both scored a best final of 104 points. Jamie Gray (Lebanon, Pa.) is in third place with 896.2 aggregate points. Gray fired 397 points the second match day to stay in the race at only 1.8 points behind.

In Women’s 10m Air Pistol, Sandra Uptagrafft (Phenix City, Ala.) is ahead of the competition with 859.5 aggregate points, nearly twenty points ahead of the competition. Darian Shenk (Annville, Pa.) is in the second position with 839.6 aggregate points. Kylie Gagnon (Bozeman, Mont.) jumped up a few places for an aggregate of 836.2 points.

USA Shooting would like to thank the CMP South for the use of their facilities and our tireless volunteers for another successful event. The athletes will continue their quest for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team at the second part of the U.S Olympic Trials in Camp Perry, Ohio, Feb. 23-26. Until then, follow your favorite athletes as they chase their Olympic dreams with updates on USA Shooting’s Facebook page and website. For final results, please visit the CMP website.

Spectators are welcome to attend and cheer on future Olympians. For live results and more information on the CMP South Marksmanship Center, please visit the CMP website. For updates and daily recaps, please visit 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. USA Shooting’s mission is 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. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.

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