SCTP Shooters Take USAS Team to Gold Medal and World Championship

Three SCTP shooters comprising the Junior World USA Shooting Team have won a team gold medal and set an International Skeet world record last week at the 2014 World Shooting Championships in Granada, Spain. Dania Vizzi of Odessa, Florida, Sydney Carson of North Liberty, Indiana and Hannah Houston of Columbia, Tennessee, earned a Junior World Team title in record-breaking fashion with a world's-best score of 204, 11 targets ahead of second-place Czech Republic. In addition, Dania Vizzi won individual honors as the Junior World Champion in Women's Skeet. Sydney finished 5th overall individually, and Hannah finished 8th.

Through 75 shots of qualifying, Dania led her nearest competitor by three targets, an almost unheard-of advantage in skeet. While she wasn't as dominant during the semifinals and finals, she didn’t have to be because neither were her opponents. She connected on 13/16 targets in the semifinal to advance to the final where she’d again connect on 13 targets to her opponent's 12. “I’m very satisfied,” Vizzi said. “It was a hard day and I’m happiest that I stayed consistent and focused all day. My main goal was to compete better than I did last year, and the result was amazing.” Dania, who started competitive shooting as a member of the Tampa Bay Clays SCTP team, now shoots for the University of Florida, also an SCTP team. Congratulations to Dania, Sydney, and Hannah! We're proud of you!