Author: Tom Davis

The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) proudly selects James Hall as the Director of Development for newly established International Disciplines of 10 Meter Air Rifle, 10 Meter Air Pistol, and Sport Pistol. A current member of the USA National Pistol Team, Hall secured the first U.S. quota spot in air pistol for the postponed Olympics in Tokyo with his Gold medal at the 2018 Championship of the Americas. Hall’s journey to the Olympic stage began at Jacksonville State University, where he was a four-time All American, Team Captain, and USA National Rifle Team Member. Along with his deep knowledge of the rifle and pistol competitor’s experience, James also has an extensive background in coaching junior athletes at the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Hall served as a CMP program manager, developing many programs that supported the growth of shooting sports including the first mobile electronic range.

“I’m enthusiastic about educating as many people as I can in order to give back to this wonderful sport which I love,” said Hall. “I became involved with shooting sports at a young age and have enjoyed competing, coaching, running matches, and working with shooters at every level of the game. My experiences provided life skills and experiences that I hope to share with others.”

“We are fortunate to have James as our Director of Development,” stated Rick Leach, SASP National Director. “James is an Olympic athlete, a four-time All American, and the recipient of multiple Distinguished Badges. We are confident that his intimate experience as a competitor at the highest level will serve our organization well as we establish and expand our new air pistol, air rifle, and sport pistol disciplines. Our coaches will also look to James’ expertise working with juniors as they start new teams across the country and introduce new athletes to these sports. James’ experience with the CMP and USAS will help us as we work together with these groups to grow youth shooting sports in our nation. As USA Shooting’s official youth feeder program and the national governing body for the Intercollegiate Pistol Program, made up of a large group of NCAA schools, we are absolutely thrilled to add James Hall as our Director of Development for International Disciplines to further capitalize on this momentum.”

Walker’s, manufacturer of advanced hearing protection under the umbrella of GSM Outdoors brands, is increasing its sponsorship of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP), committing to three years of support at the Sustaining Partner level. The SASP reserves Sustaining Partner sponsorships to the highest level of industry support of the youth shooting sports program.

“We have proudly been part of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program for many years so it was an honor to expand the partnership even further this year,” exclaimed GSM Outdoors Marketing Director, Tiffani Hogan. “We strongly support the mission of the SASP as they continue to provide shooting-sports education to school-age youth throughout the United States.” 

“We have seen many familiar sponsors step up their overall support of our program this year,” commented Rick Leach, SASP National Director. “Walker’s has supported our program since 2017 and we are incredibly humbled and thankful that they have made such a large commitment to supporting the SASP. Our Sustaining Partners are sponsors that go above and beyond to help us maintain and grow team-based youth shooting sports throughout the country. Walker’s continues to make sure we have everything we need to keep hearing safety one of the most important factors of participation in youth shooting sports. We look forward to three more years with such incredible support from Walker’s!”

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), a 501(c)(3) public charity responsible for all aspects of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), is proud to announce the athletes of the 2021 SSSF College All-American Pistol Team. With the recent selection of the SASP as the national governing body by college coaches, the SSSF is proud to continue the All-American Team and has established its first College All-American Pistol Team. These high-performing athletes are honored as All-Americans, meeting stringent score cut-offs.

International Air Pistol
1st Team

Katelyn Abeln, Sophomore, The Ohio State University

Sara Choe, Freshman, United States Coast Guard Academy

Matthew Donze, Junior, United States Military Academy

Samuel Gens, Senior, The Ohio State University

Henry Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Jackson Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Maria Tsarik, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Benjamin Waalkes, Junior, United States Coast Guard Academy

2nd Team

Luke Braun, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

Georgia Eddy, Senior, Texas A&M University

Carrie Haltiwanger, Junior, Presbyterian College

Crystal Kim, Freshman, United States Coast Guard Academy

Con Marrinan, Senior, The Ohio State University

Bernard Melus, Senior, The Ohio State University

Jay Palacios, Texas A&M University

Jared Zollner, Junior, North Dakota State University

Honorable Mention

Amanda Ackerman, Sophomore, The Ohio State University

Benjamin Bryant, Graduate, Texas A&M University

James Burroughes, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

Esther Choe, Senior, United States Coast Guard Academy

Pierce Garver, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

Alexa Hannahs, Junior, North Dakota State University

Steven Jones, Junior, The Citadel

Grace Seong, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

Kaitlin Slaubaugh, Sophomore, North Dakota State University

Standard Pistol
1st Team

Katelyn Abeln, Sophomore, The Ohio State University

Sarah Choe, Freshman, United States Coast Guard Academy

Henry Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Jackson Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Benjamin Waalkes, Junior, United States Coast Guard Academy

2nd Team

Samuel Gens, Senior, The Ohio State University

Cade Haiby, Junior, The Ohio State University

Steven Jones, Junior, The Citadel

Bernard Melus, Senior, The Ohio State University

Jared Zollner, Junior, North Dakota State University

Honorable Mention

Jay Palacios, Texas A&M University

International Sport Pistol
1st Team

Katelyn Abeln, Sophomore, The Ohio State University

Sarah Choe, Freshman, United States Coast Guard Academy

Matthew Donze, Junior, United States Military Academy

Henry Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Jackson Leverett, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Bernard Melus, Senior, The Ohio State University

Maria Tsarik, Freshman, The Ohio State University

Benjamin Waalkes, Junior, United States Coast Guard Academy

2nd Team

Amanda Ackerman, Sophomore, The Ohio State University

Luke Braun, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

James Burroughes, Sophomore, United States Military Academy

Esther Choe, Senior, United States Coast Guard Academy

Cade Haiby, Junior, The Ohio State University

Chia-Chi Hu, Junior, United States Military Academy

Jay Palacios, Texas A&M University

Jared Zollner, Junior, North Dakota State University

Honorable Mention

Isabella Firenzi, Junior, United States Coast Guard Academy

Steven Jones, Junior, The Citadel

Crystal Kim, Freshman, United States Coast Guard Academy

Soraya Nevin, Sophomore, North Dakota State University

2021 All-American Score Cut-offs:
International Air Pistol
1st Team

Men: 569.00 – 554.13

Women: 559.14 – 546.00

2nd Team

Men: 552.60 – 545.50

Women: 537.82 – 528.40

Honorable Mention

Men: 542.88 – 538.88

Women: 524.75 – 520.00

International Sport Pistol
1st Team

Men: 567.50 – 559.88

Women: 568.50 – 552.67

2nd Team

Men: 558.14 – 553.75

Women: 540.67 – 526.71

Honorable Mention

Men: 549.11

Women: 524.67 – 523.50

Standard Pistol
1st Team

562.67 – 545.83

2nd Team

540.33 – 532.00

Honorable Mention

530.00

Taurus USA has continued its Platinum Sponsorship of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) through the Taurus and Rossi brands, raising its total support of the youth shooting sports program for 2021.

“Participants and enthusiasts from all corners of the recreational firearm culture understand the personal value and lifelong edification that structured and mentored shooting sports can bring to America’s youth,” said Bret Vorhees, Taurus CEO. “The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation has made a positive, indelible mark not only in the lives of the many youth who have participated in the SSSF’s development programs but also on our industry. All of us at Taurus (and Rossi) are thankful for the opportunity to continue our support for this important mission and the Scholastic Action Shooting program, which enjoyed record participation last year and promises to positively shape the lives of even more youth in 2021.”

“Taurus has increased its total support for our program, and for that, we are incredibly thankful,” stated Rick Leach, SASP National Director. “When we see great firearms industry brands like Taurus renew and increase their sponsorship, it’s like a big green light for our staff to keep pushing forward. Through our consistent growth, we have accomplished some huge milestones, such as our National Championship becoming the largest action shooting event in the world. With the continued support from the Taurus and Rossi brands, we will continue to keep raising the bar for youth shooting sports.”

The Scholastic Action Shooting Program returned to the CMP Marksmanship Park grounds on March 12-14th to hold its Collegiate National Championship. Over three days, college action shooting teams ran squads of athletes through the four-stage competition, with hopes of returning home with the coveted Tammy L. Mowry Rifle Cup and Daniel C. Hodne Pistol cup traveling trophies.

Through the course of the match, college athletes at the CMP Marksmanship Park collectively fired well over 21,000 rounds. Balancing speed and accuracy, each athlete’s goal is to complete the SASP standardized stages of steel plate arrays, with a designated stop plate to record their time. With five “strings of fire”, the athlete’s slowest attempt is tossed out and their fastest four strings of fire are added together to determine a total stage time. With squads of four athletes, these total stage times are complied to determine an aggregate time to determine who will be returning home as SASP Collegiate National Champions.

Despite a challenging year for travel and ammo for shooting sports athletes, teams made adjustments to train for and compete at the 2021 SASP Collegiate National Championship. Returning to the match as the 2020 Rifle Cup Champion, Liberty University was eager to repeat their performance and prove that their SASP Nationals debut was not a fluke. With nine squads of athletes, Liberty came ready to claim gold in as many disciplines as they could, but one clear goal was established not long after returning from last year’s National Championship: in 2021, come back to Virginia with both trophies.

Other collegiate teams from the state of Virginia came to win, with Virginia Tech squads claiming 1st and 2nd place in the Rimfire Pistol Iron Sight discipline, 2nd place in Rimfire Pistol Optic Sight, 3rd place in both Rimfire Rifle disciplines, and 1st place in the Centerfire Pistol Optic discipline. Virginia Tech’s roster grew considerably from last year’s single squad of four athletes to nearly a dozen, who showed impressive performances at their debut SASP National Championship. 

Each year the traveling Daniel Hodne Pistol Cup honors the top collegiate team in the Centerfire Pistol discipline. For five consecutive years, Texas A&M’s Corps Of Cadets Marksmanship Unit has held possession of the trophy and was hopeful to keep the trophy for the sixth year in a row. The pressure was high and Liberty University was keen to defend their traveling trophy and acquire another.

With two competitive squads defending their title, the Tammy Mowry Rifle Cup remained at home in Virginia with Liberty University’s clear victory in the Rimfire Rifle Iron Sight discipline.  After a close race throughout Saturday’s match schedule, Liberty University’s consistency in the Centerfire discipline gave them 3.45-second lead ahead of Texas A&M, becoming the first college action shooting team in SASP history to hold both championship trophies at the same time. 

Texas A&M did return home with hardware, claiming the National Championship title in the 1911 discipline, followed by Wisconsin’s Concordia University for silver. Ian Walton, a Wisconsin athlete from the Ozaukee Pistol Team, shot a total time of 40.03 and was awarded the High Overall Champion of the Rimfire Pistol Optic discipline. Ian was also recognized for third place high overall honors in the Rimfire Rifle Iron Sight discipline. Liberty University returned with additional honors, including Kathryn Allen, Cami Barshinger, and Connelly Weems sweeping High Overall Ladies titles in all rifle disciplines and the Rimfire Pistol discipline. 

With SASP’s recent addition of 10 Meter Air Rifle, 10 Meter Air Pistol and Sport Pistol disciplines, teams at the 2021 Collegiate National Championship had the opportunity to experience 10M Air Pistol with a popup three-lane air range. Recognizing that SASP is the Official Youth Feeder Program for USA Shooting, teams traditionally focused on action shooting have begun to expand their program to the international disciplines. Following their experience at National’s popup range, Liberty University is discussing creating an international air pistol team.

The SASP Collegiate National Championship will return to the CMP Marksmanship Park in 2022, planning for a three-day event over the weekend of March 11-13th, where Liberty University will defend this season’s two-trophy performance.

The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) is excited to announce the winners of the 2021 Intercollegiate International Pistol National Championships. At the request of the coaches in the program, SASP this year became the National Governing Body for the Collegiate Pistol Nationals.  The running of this event was a portion of SASP adding Olympic shooting disciplines to their already growing Action Shooting Program. 

Athletes from grade school through college, can compete in the Olympic Disciplines of 10M Air Pistol, 10 Air Rifle in both Sporter and Precision, and Sport Pistol. 

Congratulations to all the participating athletes and colleges on a great finish to the season.  A special congratulation to Ohio State University on winning both the Open and Women’s Aggregate Championships with some great shooting.