Olympic Gold Medalist Glenn Eller Elevates Game in New Double Trap Format in Georgia
OutdoorHub 05.17.13
Glenn Eller (Houston, Texas), the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, has shown he might be rounding back into form that led him to his triumph in Beijing. With a win Wednesday at the USA Shooting Spring Selection Match on his home range in Fort Benning, Ga., he’s now climbed to the top again among America’s elite Double Trap competitors.
Eller led after Day 1 Tuesday with 145 hits of 150 targets and at the close of Day 2 he continued to lead the field with 283 hits of 300 targets. In the final, he hit 27 of 30 targets, giving him a total score of 310 and enough to hold on for the win.
“This gives me confidence going into the rest of the year,” he said. “I’ve been training hard with my new setup, getting used to the new game and what fundamentals I need to shoot the new game properly. I still have a lot of work to do, but I think I’ve set up a good base for the rest of the year and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Taking second was one of Eller’s U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit teammates Derek Haldeman (Sunbury, Ohio) who finished with a total score of 307. Rounding out the USAMU domination of the event was Jeff Holguin (Yorba Linda, Calif.) who finished this match with the highest score in the finals (29), but his total score of 303 placed him in third.
Eller, Haldeman and Holguin will represent the United States at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Granada, Spain in July and the World Clay Target Championships in Lima, Peru in September
In the Junior Competition, Billy Crawford (Johnstown, Ohio) who placed fourth in the men’s double trap event finished first in the junior field. Finishing second and third were Ian Rupert (Muncy, Pa.) and Christian Wilkoski (Centerburg, Ohio) respectively. Crawford won the 2012 National Championships while Rupert earned a World Cup bronze medal earlier this year in Acapulco, Mexico. They will join Eller, Haldeman and Holguin at the World Cup in Granada, Spain and at the World Clay Target Championships. Wilkoski also earned a berth at the World Clay Target Championships
Next up in the 2013 USA Shooting Spring Selection is a Trap training day Thursday with competition resuming Friday with finals set for Sunday.
