Post date: Apr 6, 2016 2:49:07 AM
By Tim O’Donnell TODONNELL@NEWSMINER.COM
FAIRBANKS - Matt Emmons couldn’t hold his lead as he finished runner-up at the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Olympic Trials in Columbus, Georgia, on Monday.
Emmons, a former Alaska Nanooks shooter, held an 11-point lead over David Higgins in the 50-meter prone match entering Monday but fired a 616.8 in the final round to finish with a three-day score of 1,887.5.
Higgins shot a 629.5 on Monday to pass Emmons and finish in first place with a 1,896.9.
“A lot of my shots didn’t make sense on day 2, so I asked the jury if I could use my backup rifle on day 3. They decided I could not, according to the rules,” Emmons wrote on his Faceboook page.
“I still don’t know exactly what was wrong, but things made even less sense today on day 3,” Emmons continued. “I felt good, I thought I was shooting great shots, the conditions were fantastic, but the shots were everywhere. I don’t know if something is wrong with my barrel, or if something on my gun or sights broke that I couldn’t see.”
The win secures a spot for Higgins at the Rio Olympics. Emmons has already qualified for the Olympics in the three-position match.
Emmons fired the high score on Saturday and had the fourth highest score on Sunday. He shot a 629.7 on Saturday before shooting a 625.0 on Sunday.
“It hurts when one bad day will prevent me from trying to fulfill my dream in prone in Rio. At least I still have 3x40,” Emmons wrote.
Former Nanooks shooter Mike Liuzza took 12th in the prone match with a three-day score of 1,8592. Liuzza fired a 616.8 on Monday.
Lorelie Stanfield, a Nanooks senior and Lathrop High School grad, finished 11th in the women’s 50-meter three-position. Stanfield fired a 571 on Monday to finish with a total score of 1,718.