USAMU service rifle shooter Sgt. Emil Praslick III tied for third place out of 93 competitors who made it to these finals; Praslick ended up in fourth place overall after the tie-breaker. U.S. Marine Reservist Maj. John C. Hoham of Indiana made the team with his 13th place finish as did U.S. Marine Reservist Staff Sgt. David Karcher of Louisiana who took 16th place. USAMU Service Rifle Team member Sgt. Robert M. Mango, who finished in 17th place, also made the team.
The Palma Trophy Match is shot in three stages of slow fire in the prone position using an iron-sight .308 caliber rifle with a 155-grain bullet. Competitors aim for targets that have a 20-inch bull's eye at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards away.
"This was the first time I ever tried out for the team and I was really impressed with the high caliber of talent of the people who tried out," Praslick said. "As a service rifle high-power shooter, this was the only form of international competition open to me and I wanted to make the team so I could represent both the Army and the United States in international competition."
"This was my first time trying out for the Palma Team and I'm happy to have made it," Mango said. "One thing that helped was getting a lot of good wind-reading training from our Service Rifle Team. I'm looking forward to competing. I've been wanting to do it for a long time."
The first Palma Trophy Match was held in 1876 in Long Island, N.Y. The U.S. Team won that year and since then, has won 13 of the 25 Palma competitions.
