HILLSDALE, Mich. — Staff Sgt. Hayden Stewart and Sgt. Samantha Simonton of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit won the men’s and women’s skeet national champion titles at USA Shooting’s 2025 Skeet National Championship held in May.
The competition brought more than 50 of the top skeet shooters from around the nation to the John A. Halter Shooting Sports Center at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Each competitor fired five relays of 25 to determine who made it into the finals. Then, scores were combined with previous matches to select both the national skeet team and the world championship skeet team.
Stewart, a Columbia, Tennessee native, said the finals at the national championships were intense.
“The targets were hard to see, and they had a lot of separation, which makes transitions a lot harder. During the Final, I really focused on visualizing my shot and seeing what I wanted to see, in my mind, before I stepped into the pad. I wasn’t very nervous till the shoot-off for the gold medal.”
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Simonton, an Atlanta, Georgia native, said she tried to treat nationals like any other match, but since it was the determining factor for selection on the upcoming world championship team, she knew her performance in the finals was important.
“I knew I needed to do well in the final to fully secure my placement on the world championship team, so I was just trying to stay in and keep breaking targets.”
Stewart had the same overall train-as-fight mentality that all competitions are essentially the same.
“I approach competitions as I am competing against myself because I can’t control what others shoot, how the weather is, or what the targets are doing. The only thing I can control is what I do to break targets.”
The Fort Benning Soldiers’ focus paid off as they both earned their first national champion titles.
Following Stewart in the men’s skeet category with the silver and bronze Medals were five-time Olympic medalist, Vincent Hancock — who is an alum of the USAMU — and 2024 Olympic Alternate and USAMU teammate, Staff Sgt. Dustan Taylor. The other National Skeet Team members named were USAMU’s Staff Sgt. Christian Elliott, Adam McBee and 2024 Olympic medalist Conner Prince.
Following Simonton in the women’s skeet category with the silver and bronze medals were civilian shooter Dania Vizzi and Olympic gold medalist, U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Amber English — also an alumna of the USAMU. Joining Simonton and Vizzi on the National Skeet Team will be USAMU’s Spc. Lia Nelson, Caitlin Connor, Gracie Hensley and six-time Olympic medalist Kimberly Rhode.
Nationals also served as the selection process for the 2025 International Shooting Sports Federation world championship team. The athletes who will compete in Greece in October are:
- Women’s Skeet: Dania Vizzi, Sgt. Samantha Simonton, Kimberly Rhode
- Men’s Skeet: Vincent Hancock, Staff Sgt. Christian Elliott, Connor Prince
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