Pereira Takes Juniors Trophy at 2023 CMP Air Gun Nationals

At the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) National matches, Emma Pereira smashed personal records on her way to finishing first in the air rifle junior category and sixth overall. Three other Rebels also competed in the wind and rain at Camp Perry, competing individually and in teams for both disciplines.

Joining Periera at the match were Lea Horvath, Julianna Hays and Gretchen Schleinkofer. Hays and Schleinkofer shot both air rifle and smallbore, while Horvath only competed in smallbore.

In the air rifle championships, Pereira fired career marks on her way to finishing tied for second overall and first in the junior category in qualifications. The Chesapeake, Virginia native began day one scorching a personal best 626.0 with 51 center shots, sitting in fourth heading into day two. Pereira put her foot on the gas the next day, smashing her day one score with a 627.7 for a combined 1253.7, which moved her tied for second overall and first in the junior category. She would advance to both the air rifle open championship and junior championships finals.

The sophomore survived elimination before taking sixth place in the air rifle open championships. However, Pereira crushed the junior final despite a low score after her first five shots. Slowly moving up with the top score in the second five-shot and first two-shot. By the third elimination, Pereira held the top score and kept it until the end. She won the Junior Trophy, firing a 246.6 during the finals and edging out her opponent by 0.5 points.

Hays also qualified for the junior final with the sixth-best mark in qualification of 1239.9. The All-GARC shooter grabbed sixth in the junior final and finished 13th overall. Schleinkofer rattled off a 1222.3 through two days, putting her top-55 overall and in the junior category.

In smallbore, Horvath led the Rebels, placing in 16th overall with an 1140 aggregate score. Hays’ two-day combined score of 1123 was good for 32nd place overall and 22nd in the junior category. Schleinkofer ended the event top-100 overall and 43rd in the junior category with a 1074 aggregate.

The smallbore and air rifle team championships took the same individual scores from four shooters and combined them. Pereira’s air rifle team of Scott Patterson (Murray State), Addy Burrow (Georgia Southern) and Angelina Henry (Memphis) grabbed third place overall. Hays’ team finished slightly behind in fourth but was the top team in the junior category. That same team earned top-five overall and juniors in smallbore.

The event was a USA Shooting Designated Ranking Match, improving Pereira and Hays’ national rankings and moving them closer to making the USA Shooting National Futures Team.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports