Legion's youth air rifle championship begins July 21

The American Legion invited its top 30 air rifle competitors, who competed in its preliminary and qualification round, to participate in the Legion's 25th annual Junior 3-Position Air Rifle National Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 21-25.

The 15 shooters in both the precision and sporter category will compete at the Olympic Training Center where they will stand shoulder-to-shoulder, shooting a .177 caliber air rifle in three positions: prone, standing and kneeling. The winner from each respective category will receive a $5,000 scholarship funded by The American Legion and the Sons of The American Legion. And for the first time this year, the second place winner in each category will receive a $1,000 scholarship funded by the Auxiliary.  

And returning this year with hopes of claiming the precision title is the Legion's 2011 sporter champion, Mitchell Van Patten of Idaho.

The following is a list of the top 15 individuals in both the precision and sporter category.

Precision

1. Rhiann Travis – Parker County 4-H Shooting Sports in Texas
2. Jacob Buchanan – Montgomery County 4-H Shooting Sports Club in Texas
3. Emily Stith – Capital City Junior Rifle Club in Washington, D.C.
4. Jack Anderson – Oil City Junior Rifle Team in Pennsylvania
5. Owen Yeasting – Vashon Junior Rifle Club in Seattle
6. Justin Kleinhans – Black Swamp Junior Rifle in Ohio
7. Mitchell Van Patten – Meridian Optimist Junior Rifle Club in Idaho
8. Casey Lutz – Meridian Optimist Junior Rifle Club in Idaho
9. Glen Lauzon – Georgia Competitive Shooters
10. Sabrina Keenan – Walla Walla High School JROTC in Washington
11. Amy Gentry – Tanana Valley Sportsmen's Association in Alaska
12. Elijah Larimer – American Legion Post 178 Junior Shooters in Colorado
13. Grace Taschuk – Post 435 X-Men in Minnesota
14. Reagan Abernathy – Harpeth Hall School in Tennessee
15. Melissa Espinoza – Del Valle High School AJROTC Conquest Rifles in Texas

Sporter