Olympian and member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), SGT Alison Weisz, 29, had a powerful showing at the 2024 National Smallbore & Air Rifle Championships, part of the annual National Matches schedule – claiming overall wins in both the three-position smallbore and 60 shot air rifle competitions offered during the phase.
Weisz has already had a busy year, competing in several rounds of Olympic Trials and, ultimately, securing a place as an alternate on the women’s air rifle team for Paris. Heading into the National Matches, she decided to leave the pressure of competition behind and concentrate on appreciating her place on the firing line.
“It’s been really intense and really stressful. We’re always shooting for intensity and being on top 24/7, and sometimes that takes a bit of a toll,” she said. “I wanted to just enjoy the process and stick to that.”
The National Smallbore & Air Rifle Championships were held July 11-20, facilitated by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). The event, held on electronic targets for the second year, featured three-position and prone smallbore matches along with 60 shot air rifle and air pistol competitions. Events included two days of qualifying matches as well as a culminating elimination final to determine overall winners.
The smallbore match started off smoothly for Weisz, with little sign of the notorious Camp Perry wind, which helped in keeping her process manageable. Changing conditions on Day 2 of competition proved to be more of a challenge.
“There was a lot more wind, and I struggled with that a little bit more,” Weisz confessed.
“But, it worked out enough to get me into the final where it was pretty much the definition of, ‘It’s not over ‘til it’s over,’” she joked. “I had a rough kneeling all three series, and I was like, ‘Well – that’s over with. Just keep going. Keep grinding and catch up to them.’”
Weisz hung tight to her process and ended with the win over her peers. A quick turnaround on the match schedule left no time to celebrate before making a move over to the indoor air gun range at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center to participate in the similar air rifle final.
“We had the smallbore final right before it, and my positions are a little bit different, so I was kind of intrigued,” she said. “I approached it with curiosity, wondering how it would work to have only five minutes of sighters to settle in and find the air gun position and see what happens from there.”
“I still had some nerves, and my heart was still racing, but, for the most part, my mantra inside was just trusting it – because the hold was there. I just trusted it and kept a smooth trigger squeeze,” she went on.
With confidence, she maintained a healthy lead and made it a double-victory day – proving to her fellow competitors the importance of remaining confident in yourself, no matter the circumstances.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” she said. “Trust what you have out there.”
The combination of air rifle and smallbore matches running simultaneously suited an array of athletes searching for more international-style or collegiate competition, which typically feature both types of rifles. The pairing was also the perfect setting for current college coaches to scout upcoming athletes.
“Any event is important from the standpoint of getting your exposure,” explained Harry Mullins, head coach of the University of Kentucky rifle team for over 35 years. “Large events like this – Junior Olympics, U.S. Nationals – give the individuals the opportunity to kind of compare themselves to how they stack up with other people.”
“For moving on to the next level, whether it’s college or the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, getting that exposure is key to the individuals,” he went on. “And an event like this, you can’t beat it. It’s, hands down, really good.”
The National Three-Position Smallbore & Air Rifle Championships also included three-person team elimination matches. Leading the open air rifle match was The Coaches: The Origin Story (Lucas Kozeniesky, Jeanne Haverhill, Chance Cover), Assorted Parts (Peter Fiori, Griffin Lake, Cecilia Ossi) led the smallbore event.
Ossi led at last year’s National Smallbore and Air Rifle Matches and looked forward to returning to the events in 2024.
“Everyone loves the team matches,” she said. “We did this last year, and the team matches – it’s just different than competing by yourself. We don’t shoot these, really, anywhere in the U.S. except here. You do it internationally, but only a few of us are shooting internationally. So, being able to shoot in a team – everyone gets really excited about it. Everyone gets really excited about being able to come here and do that.”
Overall junior teams of the elimination events were:
Air Rifle: The Kidz (Tyler Wee, Ashlyn Blake, Mackenzie Kring)
Smallbore (Freedom’s Fire Trophy): Palmyra Green (Corbin Jockers, Ziva Swick, Sam Adkins)
An aggregate award based on qualification scores from the three-position smallbore and air rifle competitions was also presented at the conclusion of both events, with Peter Fiori, 24, of Lebanon, NJ, earning the overall title by a margin of four points.
Another exciting element at the 2024 National Smallbore and Air Rifle Matches was the inclusion of more festive activities, like beach parties and food trucks available to all attendees. The food trucks featured hand-made coffee and tea beverages, tacos and burgers, while beach goers indulged in swimming, sand volleyball, DJ music and custom-made CMP beach balls and sunglasses.
“I think it was great,” Fiori said. “The beach party – that was really cool. I think that was something that’s been missing for matches, just in general – a more social aspect. Usually, you’re just hanging out on the range. It’s nice to have a more social atmosphere around the range.”
View a complete list of results of the National Smallbore & Air Rifle Championships, which also includes the 60 Shot Air Pistol results, on the CMP website at https://ct.thecmp.org/2024NMAGSBResults. Photos of the event are available for browsing and free download at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f308745696.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
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