The competition wrapped up in Baku on Tuesday with no Americans reaching the final in the men’s skeet competition. Phillip Jungman had a strong day shooting a 49, including a perfect final round 25, but still finished 31st with a score of 118. Jungman finished four points behind the shoot-off score of 122. Also finishing well was Hayden Stewart who had a perfect 25 to close after a 22 in round four. Stewart was 57th overall with a 110. It wasn’t as great final day for Mark Staffen who closed with back-to-back 21’s. He shot that score in four rounds of the competition and finished with a 107 in 58th.
The only ISSF World Cup event left in 2016 is the final. The final for rifle and pistol is in Bologna, Italy from October 4th-10th while the shotgun final is in Rome, Italy from October 10th-16th. The US Shotgun National Championships are in Ft. Carson, Colorado from July 10th-19th.
With a limited roster of competitors at the ISSF World Cup event in Baku the US has had few medal chances. Their first finalist didn’t happen until the second to last day of the competition when Amber English finally made it in skeet and shot her way to gold. English was third in qualifying with a 72 and advanced to the gold medal final with a 15 in the semifinal after hitting her last nine targets (the most of any of the six semifinalists). In the gold medal match English was a bit off to start hitting just four of her first six but hit her final ten to score a 14 that was more than enough to beat Italian Chiara Cainero’s 12. It was the second gold of the year by an American (Morgan Craft in Nicosia) and the third medal (Kimberly Rhode in Rio). The skeet is one of the best events for the US and the depth is why English won’t be in the Olympics as Rhode and Craft have the two spots from the US. Caitlin Connor was also strong with a 14th place finish with a 69. Her final round 22 was not enough to get her into a shoot-off at 71.
Things aren’t going as well in the men’s competition as all three American men seem to be out of of contention after the first three rounds. Phillip Jungman shot a 69, Mark Staffen a 65, and Hayden Stewart a 63. Jungman went 23-24-22 but sitting five points back of the top six would almost certainly miss the final even if he shot a 50 tomorrow. Staffen was hurt by 21’s in the first and third round while Stewart shot a final round 19. The men’s competition wraps up on Tuesday.
Joshua Richmond notched the top finish by an American so far in Baku with a tenth place finish in the double trap competition on Saturday. It was a disappointing finish for Richmond considering it was his worst of the four world cup stops this year and came off a win in San Marino. Richmond started out with a 26 and 27 to really put the pressure on his final 3 rounds. He improved with a 29 and 26 before shooting a final round 28 that left him two short with a total of 136. Richmond will be representing the US in the event in Rio where he will be a medal contender. In the 10m air pistol event Alexander Chichkov was 27th after shooting a 575. The score was five off the final qualifier spot as Chichkov lost the most ground in his fourth round where he shot a 93.
The final US competitors will begin on Monday in the men’s and women’s skeet competition. In women’s skeet, which also wraps up on Monday, it’ll be Amber English (fourth in Rio) and Caitlin Connor (her first world cup event of 2016). In men’s skeet it’ll be Phillip Jungman, Mark Staffen, and Hayden Stewart competing. Stewart was 13th in Rio while Jungman was 25th in Nicosia. The men’s competition wraps up on Tuesday.
Seth Inman was the better of the two Americans competing in the men’s trap in Baku after a 48 on the second day moved him into the top 40 with a 26th place finish. Inman was never in contention to reach the final as his total of 116 was four behind the 120 needed to get into a shoot-off for a spot in the final. Inman’s first day 68 left him too far back to contend on day two. Ryne Baxter Barfield was 57th after a second day 44 left him at 112 for the competition. For both competitors it was an improvement on their first ISSF World Cup event of the year.
Saturday will be the 10m air pistol event and Alexander Chichkov will be competing for the US. Chichkov has not competed for the US this year. It’s also the double trap competition where 2016 Olympian Joshua Richmond will be competing.
The ISSF World Cup in Baku will continue through Tuesday.
Ashley Carroll got off to a strong start in the women’s trap event in Baku opening with a 24 in her first round and following it up with a 23 before falling a bit short of finals qualification in round three. Carroll would have needed a 24 to automatically reach the final and a 23 to get into a shoot-off but her 22 left her just short in 11th place. It was the second top-15 finish of the year for Carroll.
In the men’s trap competition Seth Inman and Ryne Baxter Barfield were both off the pace of qualification. Both shot a 68 and sit outside the top 40. 20 competitors shot a 70 or better so even with perfect 50s tomorrow it is a long shot either could reach the final held later in the day.
The ISSF World Cup in Baku will continue through Tuesday.
The fourth ISSF World Cup event will be this week in Baku, Azerbaijan as the shotgun, rifle, and pistol athletes will all be competing together. For the US this is not the best timing as the national championships in rifle and pistol are in Ft. Benning, Georgia starting Wednesday. That won’t affect the shotgun athletes though, their national championship is in July, so expect a good showing in Baku. Things begin on Wednesday with the women’s trap competition and the beginning of the men’s trap competition.
The only American competing in the women’s trap competition is Ashley Carroll. Carroll wasn’t competing in San Marino but finished ninth in her last ISSF World Cup event in Rio. In the men’s trap competition Seth Inman and Ryne Baxter Barfield will be competing. Inman was 57th in Rio and Barfield 70th in Nicosia in their only World Cup events so far this year.
The ISSF World Cup in Baku will continue through Tuesday.
2016 Olympian Vincent Hancock grabbed the third medal by an American at this World Cup event with a strong final day that had barely a hiccup. Hancock hit 74 of 75 targets in the second day of qualifying to finish with 123 and avoid the shoot-off for the final as he was in third. Italy’s Tammaro Cassandro tied the world record with a perfect 125 in qualifying. Hancock’s hiccup was in the semifinals and it was a single missed target. Three of the other semifinalists were 16/16 so Hancock was relegated to the bronze medal match. There he regained his perfect form and defeated Jesper Hansen of Denmark to grab the bronze. It was the first medal of the year for Hancock who now has third, fourth, and fifth place finishes might as well round that out with a silver in the world cup event in Baku in a couple weeks and a gold in Rio. Frank Thompson ended up with a second day 70 and a total of 116 to finish 42nd.
The next ISSF World Cup event is a combined rifle, pistol, and shotgun event in Baku, Azerbaijan from June 20th-29th.
2016 Olympians Kimberly Rhode and Morgan Craft both were competitive in the women’s skeet event on Thursday but each were just off enough to miss out on a final appearance. 72 ended up being the cutoff score and when Rhode missed the fifth to last target of her final round she sealed her fate with a 71 that left her ninth. For Craft it was the opening round 22 that set her day off to a bad start and despite 24s in the second two rounds her total of 70 was only good enough for 12th. The US had multiple finalists in each of the first two world cup events so this was a disappointing showing.
In the men’s competition 2016 Olympian Vincent Hancock was nearly perfect on Thursday missing just one target his 49 has him in 11th with seven shooters perfect so far. Frank Thompson started with a 21 and despite a 25 to follow his 46 on day one has him in 52nd and needing a perfect storm on day Friday. After the final three rounds of qualifying on Friday morning there will be a final later in the day.
Joshua Richmond made it two finalists in two events for the US in San Marino and with just one miss in the final grabbed the first gold medal of the event for the US. Richmond had yet to make a final in 2016 but was certainly a contender in both previous events with top 10 finishes. He certainly looks like a potential Olympic medalist after the performance he had on Monday. Richmond posted the third highest score, a 140, in qualifying to reach the six-man final. In the semifinals Richmond was second best with a 28 and won a shoot-off against Qiang Pan of China to reach the gold medal match. There he defeated Germany’s Andreas Loew by hitting his first 28 shots and 29 of 28 overall to win by one. Walton Eller, also a 2016 Olympian, had two 25’s in qualifying and finished with a 134, four behind the sixth place finisher in 17th.
There are no competitions on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday things resume with men’s and women’s skeet. Women’s skeet is a single day competition where 2016 Olympians Kimberly Rhode and Morgan Craft will participate. Both Rhode and Craft have great finishes this year, Rhode second in Rio and making the final in Nicosia while Craft won in Nicosia. Men’s skeet is a two day competition and the US will be represented by 2016 Olympians Vincent Hancock and Frank Thompson. Thompson posted a top ten finish in Rio while Hancock has reached both finals but failed to medal.
2016 Olympian Corey Cogdell made a statement Friday in San Marino that she will be a contender for a women’s trap medal in Rio. Cogdell missed her first target in the semifinals but hit twelves of the next fourteen to get into a shoot-off where where qualified for the gold medal final. Cogdell would miss four times and finish with the silver but it was a big showing for the 29-year-old who is looking for her second Olympic medal in Rio. In qualifying Cogdell had a 22 in her third round that nearly cost her a semifinal berth but she finished in a tie for 6th with 70 and won a shoot-off to stay alive.
With no men’s trap competitors the next US action will be when Joshua Richmond and Walton Eller, both 2016 Olympic qualifiers, compete in the double trap on Monday. Both the qualifiers and final are on Monday. Both are contenders with Richmond having two top ten finishes but yet to reach a final in 2016 while Eller won bronze in Rio.
Previous ISSF World Cup San Marino Coverage: Preview