Plzen, CZECH REPUBLIC — Kentucky rifle freshman sensation Tom Csenge continued a stellar summer pace, claiming the men?s under-20 smallbore and air rifle championships in the 17th annual Meeting of the Shooting Hopes, held over the weekend in Plzen, Czech Republic.
?I am extremely proud of all three of our shooters,? Kentucky head coach and reigning Great American Rifle Conference Coach of the Year Harry Mullins said. ?They have done an exceptional job for us and I am excited that they had the opportunity to continue this on an international level. For this to be Ashley Jackson’s first international match, she held up very well. She will come away from this with a great learning experience that will help her greatly in the coming months. Andrew Roland and Tom also did a great job. For Andrew to come back in both finals, I think is a great accomplishment in his growth as a shooter. Tom having to make the move up in smallbore to win and then the next day having to hold the lead in air rifle is also a great accomplishment in his ability to perform under pressure.?
Csenge, along with freshman Ashley Jackson and sophomore Andrew Roland, traveled to Europe to compete against some of the top junior European shooters in the highly acclaimed competition. Csenge, who finished second in the GARC Rookie of the Year balloting in 2007 behind fellow UK freshman Jen Pason, became the first male shooter to claim both the smallbore and air rifle titles in the competition?s 17-year history. The Keene, N.H., native entered in the final round of the smallbore competition in second place behind famed French smallbore shooter Remy Flores Moreno. Csenge rallied to narrowly defeat the Frenchman by 1.1 total points, claiming the smallbore title. In the air rifle portion of the competition, Csenge entered the final round with a first place 592, holding on to win with a score of 698.8, defeating Bulgarian star shooter Anton Rizov?s score of 686.6.
Roland also performed splendidly, finishing in third place in smallbore and third in air rifle. Roland went into the smallbore final with a fifth-place 1147. The sophomore shot a final-round high 95.5 to move into third place. Roland also had to climb the standings board in air rifle, entering the final round in seventh place before moving up to third place to finish the competition.
Jackson rounded out the UK trio overseas, competing in just the first international competition of her young, promising career. The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio native had a solid competition, placing 10th in smallbore and finishing tops among American women in air rifle.
?It is always great when one country has more than one shooter in the final eight,? Mullins said. ?Thus, I feel really special to have to UK student-athletes, both Tom and Andrew in the smallbore and air rifle finals. This match is an international match in which most of the European countries send its top junior shooters [20 and under] to compete. With the United States Nationals coming up next week, this will give the three that traveled to this match a great advantage.?
