Beyerle Takes Second Title, Parker Men's 3 Position Rifle at USA Shooting Nationals

FT. BENNING, GEORGIA) - Jamie Beyerle of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a 2008 Olympian, won her second title of the 2009 USA Shooting National Championships Thursday, taking first place in Women's 10m Air Rifle, while three-time Olympian Jason Parker of Omaha, Nebraska finished first in Men's 3 Position Rifle.

Beyerle fired a match score of 791, a final of 103.4 for an overall score of 894.4 to finish first in Women's Air Rifle. Amy Sowash (Richmond, Ky.) took second place with 889.4 points, while two-time Olympian Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) finished right behind Sowash in third place with 888.9. Denise Martin (Chewelah, Wash.) won the title for the junior women with an overall score of 886.7. Samantha Trisdale (Aurora, Colo.) grabbed second place with 885.2 and Alivia Yeager (Louisville, Ky.) took third with 881.4 points.

In the Men's 50m 3 Position Rifle event, the shooters had to battle extremely hot weather conditions as well as a delay in shooting, but the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) came out and dominated, winning all three spots on the podium. Parker shot a qualification score of 2344, a final of 96.2 for an overall score of 2440.2 to win the match easily by 16.4 points. Parker's USAMU teammates Michael McPhail (Darlington, Wis.) and 1996 Olympian Eric Uptagrafft (Spokane, Wash) took the second and third spots with overall scores of 2423.8 and 2416.5 respectively.

For the junior men, Brian Carstensen (Hoover, Ala.) claimed the title with a total score of 2390.2 points, while 2008 Olympian Stephen Scherer (Billerica, Mass.) captured second place with 2388.1 points. Ethan Settlemires (Walnut, Miss.) grabbed the third spot with 2378.4 points.

For complete National Championship results as well as a detailed competition schedule, please visit USA Shooting's website at www.usashooting.org.

The 2009 USA Shooting Rifle/Pistol National Championships are being held at Ft. Benning's International Shooting Complex in Columbus, Ga., which is home of the USAMU. Competition continues Friday with the Women's 10m Air Pistol and Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol finals, and will conclude on Saturday with the Men's 50m Prone Rifle final.

Contact:
Mary Beth Vorwerk, USA Shooting (719) 866-4896 or MaryBeth.Vorwerk@usashooting.org