KERRVILLE, Texas (Army News Service, March 17, 2008) - The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Shooting (Shotgun) concluded March 16 with Pfc. Vincent C. Hancock of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit of Fort Benning, Ga., earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Skeet.
Army Marksmanship Unit Soldiers Pfc. Walton Glenn Eller III and Spc. Jeffrey G. Holguin were selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Double Trap March 15.
In Men's Skeet, Hancock, the 2007 World Cup Italy Champion and world record holder and 2007 Pan-American Games Gold Medalist, earned a berth to his first U.S. Olympic Team finishing with a total score of 511 targets.
USAMU's Staff Sgt. Mark L. Weeks tied Sean McLelland of Texas with 478 targets going into the final, but McLelland earned the spot on the Olympic Team shooting 24 targets to Weeks' 22 targets in the final. McLelland finished with a total score of 502 targets, while Weeks finished with 500 targets.
A 2004 Olympian, Sgt. 1st Class Shawn C. Dulohery of USAMU, finished in fifth place with 496 targets.
Fellow USAMU members Sgt. Joshua M. Richmond, the 2007 Pan-American Games Champion, and 2000 Olympian Staff Sgt. William H.
Keever, finished in third and fourth place respectively with 606 and 596 targets.
The Trap portion of the Shotgun Olympic Team Trials concluded March 12 with retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Bret E. Erickson and Air Force Reserve Maj. Dominic Grazioli being selected to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Men's Trap.
Retired from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Erickson, a three-time Olympian, will represent the USA on his fourth Olympic Team in Beijing this August after finishing the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in first place for Men's Trap with a final score of 499 targets.
In Women's Trap, Sgt. 1st Class Joetta R. Dement of the Army Marksmanship Unit finished in second place with 463 targets, while 1996 Olympian Sgt. 1st Class Theresa E. DeWitt of the Marksmanship Unit took fifth place with 453 targets.
Top shotgun shooters from around the United States were vying for spots on the Olympic Team at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Shooting (Shotgun) March 8 to 16 at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center. Shotgun athletes were selected to the Olympic Team based on the aggregate score from both the Fall Selection competition, which was conducted in August and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Shooting (Shotgun).
There are eight spots on the U.S. Olympic Shotgun team - two in Men's Skeet, two in Men's Trap, two in Men's Double Trap, one in Women's Skeet and one in Women's Trap.
(Mary Beth Vorwerk writes for USA Shooting.)
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