Justin Thomas competed in the 50-meter Small Bore and 50-meter Air Rifle Prone. Thomas set a new personal best in the small bore shooting 17 points above his average.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Hellgate Civilian Junior Shooters (HCJS) Justin Thomas, Ibby Lorentz, Alex Weisenburger and Abby Donald went straight from Western Regional Championships in Layton, Utah to the 2017 National Junior Olympic Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo. While Head Coach Trace Weisenburger was extremely pleased with how well each of the shooters did, he emphasized it is not as much the score as the opportunity to compete in high pressure situations against nationally ranked shooters.
Thomas missed the Air Rifle competition April 7-9 because he was in Layton. He competed in the 50-meter small bore and 50-meter Air Rifle Prone April 9-12.
"He shot excellent small bore," said Weisenburger. "He was shooting at 50 meters instead of 50 feet which requires a lot more concentration and a lot better follow through. If you don't follow through it has 50 meters for the bullet to exploit itself. When you shoot 50-meter, you really have to be on your game and be there mentally in order to make it happen."
Thomas shot an 1119 the first day, a new personal best, and 1118 the second day. Weisenburger said his average is around 1102 for two days. He ranked 30th of 64 shooters in the men's small bore three position.
Thomas also participated in the 50-meter 60-shot prone match. Thomas again placed 30th with a total score of 1215 of 1308 possible points.
Lorentz competed in the women's junior small bore championships. Her teammates Donald and Weisenburger joined her to compete in the air rifle USA Shooting Junior Olympic Championships.
Lorentz's average for 50-feet small bore is 550. On day one of competition, she shot a 572 at 50 meters. That put her in 11th place out of 66 shooters. She was back to her 50-foot average on day two shooting a 551 placing 28th at the end of day two.
"Ibby did an excellent job on day one shooting way above her average [shooting significantly farther]," said Coach Weisenburger. "Day two was still good at a big competition like that."
Coach Weisenburger said now she knows she can shoot a 572 in competition and "that's what she will expect from herself." Coach Weisenburger highlights that she was shooting against sophomores in college who are on the national team and against Virginia Thrasher who was the Olympic Gold Medalist from Rio De Janeiro [who shot a 579 on day one and a 582 on day two].
In Air Rifle, Lorentz placed 36th of 180 shooters. Weisenburger came in 142nd and Donald placed 150th.
Coach Weisenburger said Weisenburger had an excellent day one shooting what he thought was a new personal best of 396.6.
"It's all about the competition. The more competition that the kids get and the more of these big matches they shoot in, the less intimidating it is in the future," said Coach Weisenburger. "You are trying to control yourself, control your mind and your heart rate, not get excited and stay focused. You need to have a calm exposure on the outside but your insides are jumping up and down. It's a mental game so that's what these kids are learning. The more practice that they get at it, the better they will be."
Lorentz and her teammates Jonna Warnken and Sam Weisenburger head to Illinois Memorial Day weekend for the NRA Championships. Then the HCJS will bring two teams and seven individuals to the National Civilian Marksmanship Program three-position Championship June 22-23 in Camp Perry, Ohio.
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