Caruso, a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team, shot a 498.2 in today’s competition for a three-day total of 1399.1. The score bettered the marks of any other U.S. American, making her the automatic selection for Team USA.

In Saturday’s preliminary rounds, Caruso shot a perfect 400 to etch her name into shooting history. The score had not been shot by an American in competition in six years.

Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.), who placed third in today’s final shoot, will also travel to Rio de Janeiro as part of the U.S. Pan Am delegation. Her collective scores over the length of the competition totaled 1391.0, enough to win her the second slot.

International invitee Katy Kurkova (Czech Republic) won her second title of the 2006 3X Air Match by beating both American leaders in the final shoot. After winning o­n the first day of competition, she shot a 398 prelim and 103.5 for the day’s top podium slot. Her cumulative score from all three shoots was a 1402.2, to give her the highest score over the course of the event. She was also the high visitor for the third consecutive day.

Kurkova’s fiancé, Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons, stepped up his shots o­n day three to become the men’s third day champion. He dropped o­nly o­ne point the entire qualification round for a 599, and took the second place finisher by 1.3 points in the final. Sunday’s score of 794.1 combined with his totals from day o­ne and two to earn him an overall total of 2002.4, nearly 10 points ahead of the nearest qualifier for the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games Team.

The final men’s open second place rifleman was Ryan Tanoue (Honolulu, Hawaii) who scored a 699.8. After leaving four points o­n the range in the qualification, he fell behind Emmons for the top of the podium. Day o­ne junior champion Jonathan Hall (Carrollton, Ga.) shot for third in the men’s open and his second junior title of the 3X Air Match.

Jason Parker (Cusseta, Ga.) was the runner-up in the Pan American Games Selection. His three day total of 1993.1 was just shy of making the U.S. Team due to a chance in qualification by the Pan American Games Organizing Committee. The change notes that o­nly o­ne male shooter from the country can be sent to compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the event.

DAY TWO

Day two of the 2006 USA Shooting 3X Air Match in Colorado Springs, Colo., named two athletes to the U.S. Pan American Games Team and produced two new national records.

Three-Time Olympian Libby Callahan (Columbia, S.C.) and Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Rose (Central Point, Ore.), a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), took the top step on the medals stand in pistol in the women’s and men’s events, respectively. Both have earned their ticket to represent Team USA at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A retired police officer, Callahan earned the silver behind Canadian shooter Kim Eagles (British Columbia, Canada) on the first day of competition. She was still leading the U.S. rankings, and came into day two as Team USA’s top pistol shooter in line to make the Pan Am squad.

Callahan walked into today’s finals with a 376 qualifying score, two points from Eagles and five points ahead of American shooter Teresa Meyer (Dearborn, Mich.). Initially, two 10-point shots placed her in first, but back to back 9.8, 9.6 and 9.2 scores showed signs that she might have been wavering. Despite jumping from 10.3 down to 8.6, she still managed to earn top honors by nearly two points with a final score of 472.8.

A three-time Pan American Games team veteran who captured the silver in 1991, Callahan explained following the match that she still has to make improvements to compete internationally.

“I may have won here today, but I still have a lot of work to do. I am not satisfied with how I shot,” she noted, referring to her consistency.

Among the international shooters invited to participate, Eagles took second with an overall score of 471. A 468.9 total placed Vladimira Borisova in third.

Though he stood in third yesterday, Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Rose had an amazing shoot in day two to earn his chance to represent the U.S. in Rio.

“I had to make myself smile during the finals yesterday, but I am all smiles today,” said Rose of his win. “I had stiff competition. Today was a good match, but it’s tough. Going in, (Jason) Turner had the lead. I had to beat him in order to make it.”

Rose made up a significant deficit between himself and U.S. Olympian Jason Turner (Rochester, N.Y.) to secure his ticket to Rio. The USAMU athlete entered today’s finals with a nine point lead, needing only to shoot a consistent match to take the podium. Rose came out strong, notching seven 10-point shots to hold the lead and earn the U.S. Pan American Games Team berth.

Colorado Springs resident and National Team athlete John Bickar (Canton, Ohio) finished in second place with an overall score of 677. He shot all over the board in his finals match, ranging in scores from 8.4 to 10.8 for the silver. In third was two-time Olympian and 10-year National Team veteran Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski (Saginaw, Mich.), another member of the USAMU.

The star of the day was rifle shooter Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.), U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete and 2004 U.S. Olympian, who shot a perfect 400 in preliminary round of the women’s air rifle competition to help her win day two of the match. Her score tied the record and etched her name into shooting history.

“I’m excited to (match the record),” said Caruso through a calm smile. “I knew when I lined up for the last 10, but I kept on with it. I knew I could do it.”

International invitee Katy Kurkova (Czech Republic), the fiancé of U.S. Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons (Fairbanks, Alaska), finished in second with an overall score of 500.9. Kurkova was on top of the podium yesterday, but dropped to second today behind Caruso’s perfect score.

Both Caruso and Kurkova shot a 100.9 in the finals, with Olympic Training Center resident athlete Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) not far behind with an even 100. Beyerle’s preliminary score of 396, one point behind Kurkova, secured her position in third place.

Emmons faired well in the men’s open rifle division, extending his preliminary lead with 10-point shots throughout the finals for an overall score of 703.3. Jason Parker (Cusseta, Ga.), Wesley Hess (Humble, Texas) and Matt Rawlings (Fairbanks, Alaska) were all in the fight for second, lining up on the firing line in the finals tied with a score of 596.

Their first shots in the final were nearly identical, with Rawlings taking the first lead in the group after shooting a 10.6. Despite a 10.9 in the seventh shot of the night, he marked three nine-point shots to fall to fourth. Parker and Hess both shot a 698.4, but in a shoot-off between the two, Parker took the title by only fourth tenths of a point.

Hess earned the bronze, with his score securing him the junior champion title by almost six full points.

The event concludes Sunday with rifle athletes being selected for the 2007 Pan American Games team.

Another national record was broken tonight, with 11-year-old Tim Sherry (Littleton, Colo.) beating the new record he set yesterday in his age category.

“In the back of my mind I knew I was close to the record, but I tried to just shoot my best during the competition,” explained Sherry, who has shot alongside three-time shooting Olympic medalist Lones Wigger.

When asked what his next goal would be, Sherry quickly replied, “I want to better my own record.”
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He first set the record in day one of the competition, but broke his own mark today by two points for a 583.

Nearly 200 athletes traveled to the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center in search of their chance to represent Team USA at the 2007 Pan American Games. Beginning December 1, three identical competitions were shot in air rifle and air pistol with finals closing out each day. An aggregate of scores were tallied to determine the top competitors who will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as part of the U.S. Pan Am delegation.

For more information o­n the naming of the 2007 U.S. Pan American Shooting Team for men’s and women’s air rifle, visit the http://www.usahooting.org/ web site under the “Policies and Procedures” link.

About The Pan American Games
An estimated 5,500 athletes from 42 countries are expected to compete in 28 sports at the 2007 Pan American Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 13-29, 2007. A continental version of the Olympic Games, the schedule includes all of the Olympic sports as well as other "Pan American sports" that are not included in the Olympic program. The Pan American Games are held every four years, always o­ne year before the Olympiad. They were first contested in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.