Highlights of the 2002 USA Shooting National Championships
Provided by Scott Engen, USA Shooting,
and Paula J. Randall Pagán, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Public Affairs Office

ATLANTA- Several hundred of America's best shooting sports athletes gathered in this historic southern city for the 2002 USA Shooting National Championships, contesting nearly 20 different events in the pistol, rifle and running target disciplines. The national title event was held at the Tom Lowe Shooting Grounds, site of the shooting events of the 1996 Olympic Games.

Matt Emmons, 21, a University of Alaska Fairbanks junior from Browns Mills, New Jersey, claimed two national titles, including a win in the men's prone rifle match. This championship was contested in a swirling windstorm strong enough to peel the numbers off the wall above the firing line. Emmons brought a qualifying round score of 1195 of a possible 1200 points into the medals final round. Reading the rapidly-changing conditions carefully, Emmons nailed ten additional solid shots to add another 104.7 points to his score, a near miraculous performance considering the win conditions, to take the national championship. Emmons was challenged briefly by US Army Marksmanship Unit shooter Tom Tamas, 37, of Columbus, Georgia, a two-time Olympian and the co-world record holder and defending world champion in this event, but his 1192 qualifying round score and 103.0 final was just not enough to catch the younger shooter. Placing third in the event was Eitan Barazani, 47, of Rossmoor, California, who had 1188 in qualifying and a 102.9 in the final.

Matt Emmons

Emmons' UAF team mate Joseph Hein, 20, of Mason, Michigan, won the gold medal in the junior class of the men's 3x40 event, posting a 2407.5 score to better the 2403.8 from Kentucky Wildcat Bradley Wheeldon, 20, of Eubank, Kentucky and the bronze medal effort of 2401.2 by Matthew Rawlings, 17, of Wharton, Texas.

In the women’s air rifle championship, Emily Caruso, 24, a US Olympic Training Center resident athlete fired a total of 792 in the qualifying round matches. This was equaled by rising young star Sarah Blakeslee, 16, of Vancouver, Washington who also entered the medals final round with a 792 score.

During the ten-shot final, the lead shifted several times between the pair, but toward the end of the series several deeply-centered tens by Caruso added up to a 103.1 final and helped her secure the gold medal with a match total of 895.1. Blakeslee kept it close, finishing a close second at 894.4. Erin Skeuse, 17, of Stockton, New Jersey, won third place with an 884.5. Blakeslee's solid performance also earned her top honors in the junior women's class, followed by Skeuse in second, and Celeste Greene, 18, of Lufkin, Texas, who picked up the junior bronze medal with a final total of 875.7.

Emily Caruso

2000 US Olympian Adam Saathoff, 27, an EMT firefighter from Sierra Vista, Arizona, secured the gold medal in the men's 10m running target mixed event at the 2002 USA Shooting National Championships, scoring 387 of a possible 40 points. Koby Holland, 28, of Dillon, Montana, took the silver with a 381, followed by the US Army Marksmanship Unit's Lance Dement, 33, another 2000 US Olympian from San Antonio, Texas, getting the national bronze medal with a 378. Mike Fredrickson, 15, of Belgrade, Montana, won the national junior title in this event with a score of 374, followed by John Rock, 18, of Lathrop, California, who posted a 369 for the silver. Trevor Peterson, 17, of Blackfoot, Idaho, took the third spot with a score of 360.

Adam Saathoff

As the last echoes of the national championships faded into the Georgia twilight on the final day of competition, one of America's best young male shooting sports athletes was able to dominate his rivals and claim multiple titles at the annual meet.

US Olympic Training Center resident athlete John Bickar, 24, of Canton, Ohio, won a fourth gold medal in as many attempts with his triumph in the men's rapid fire pistol event. Bickar went into the medals round final solidly in the lead with a two-day qualifying round score of 1179 of a possible 1200 points. Terry Anderson, 57, of Dallas, Texas, came to the final round at 1161, followed by Tony Pikman, 44, of Short Hills, New Jersey, with a score of 1144.

Bickar posted a solid 98.6 final round, which when added to his qualification score gave him a nearly 20-point margin of victory over Anderson, and an advantage of more than 40 points over Pikman. Bickar's rapid fire gold medal today was added to his collection of wins in centerfire, standard and air pistol, all during the previous week of competition. Cody Maxwell, 19, of Woodland Park, Colorado, won the men's junior class rapid fire pistol competition with a score of 1133, followed by Alex Denton, 19, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, with a score of 1018.

John Bickar