Legion's air rifle championship gets underway this week

Thirty high school air rifle competitors will stand shoulder-to-shoulder this week for The American Legion's 29th annual Junior 3-Position Air Rifle National Championship July 25-27. The top 15 shooters in the precision and sporter categories will compete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

See a list of the precision competitors here and sporter competitors here. And click here to follow results.

The air rifle marksmen will shoot a .177 caliber air rifle in three positions: prone, standing and kneeling. The top eight shooters in both categories will be finalized July 26 and advance to the championship round July 27, which starts at 9 a.m. Mountain time. Round-by-round live scoring will be available the week of the competition. Photos and stories of the top 16 finalists and the winners will be available at www.legion.org/shooting.

One competitor will win the championship title in each category, along with a $5,000 college scholarship provided by The American Legion and the Sons of The American Legion. A $1,000 scholarship, provided by the American Legion Auxiliary, will be awarded to the second-place finisher in each category.

The precision and sporter champion will attend the 101st American Legion National Convention in Indianapolis in August to be honored alongside other American Legion youth program champions.