April 17, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky freshman Connor Davis took gold in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle at the 2013 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championship on Tuesday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“I’m very proud of Connor,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “He is very talented and this is just another example that goes to prove his capability in air rifle. He’s been working hard and it’s always great seeing hard work pay off.”

Davis shot a 593 on day one to finish the day in second but took the lead after posting a 591 on day two to bring his aggregate to 1183. Alaska-Fairbanks’ Ryan Anderson was two points behind Davis with an aggregate of 1181.

The Shelbyville, Ky., native held onto the lead to clinch the gold in the final, shooting a 102.1 to bring his total score to 1285.1. Anderson posted a 102.6 in the final but wasn’t able to overcome Davis’ two point lead, sealing a 1.5-point win for the freshman.

With Anderson taking the silver medal, Air Force’s Tyler Rico won the bronze medal with a total score of 1278.9.

Davis was named first team All-America in air rifle and second team in smallbore as a freshman at UK. He wrapped up the 2012-13 season with a 592.1 scoring average in air rifle, the second best average on the team. The freshman finished fourth overall in air rifle at the NCAA Championships.

Davis will next compete in smallbore at the National Junior Olympic competition on Thursday at 8:45 a.m.