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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Wilson To Compete At World Shooting Championships
7/13/2006 | Rifle
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss rifle sophomore Shannon Wilson has added another accomplishment to her growing resume The first team All-American will represent her country at the 2006 World Shooting Championships beginning July 21 in Zagreb, Croatia.
"It is such a great honor to represent your country on the world stage," said Wilson. "I just want to try my hardest and give a great effort."
The Fairfax, Va., native earned a spot on the U.S. team in part by winning gold at the 2006 U.S. Junior Olympics women's rifle smallbore competition in March. Wilson bested 57 shooters to take home first place in the two-day event held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She won the event with a score of 1251.6.
The World Shooting Championships features over 3,500 competitors from around the world. Wilson will be competing in the smallbore portion of the championships against shooters ages 20-and-under. She will train in Pforzheim, Germany, for one week before heading to Croatia for the Championships.
This past season the sophomore helped lead Ole Miss to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Rifle Championships and tied the school record of 587 to finish second in the smallbore. Wilson also tied Jennifer Lorenzen's school record of 590 in the air rifle earlier this season. She won the junior women's air rifle portion of the 3x Air and Top Gun Championships in December and competed with the U.S. National Development Team in the Bavarian Air Rifle Championships held in Munich, Germany.
"I am very proud of Shannon," said Ole Miss rifle head coach Valerie Boothe, who was named last season's National Coach of the Year by the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association. "She has worked very hard for this and will do a great job representing her country and Ole Miss."
Ole Miss rifle had its most successful season ever in 2006. The Rebels earned their first ever appearance in the NCAA Championships, attained the program's first NCAA sectional victory and saw Ole Miss set or tie school records for team aggregate, air rifle and smallbore scoring, as well as individual air rifle and smallbore marks. In addition to Wilson, junior Jennifer Lorenzen picked up her second consecutive All-America honor.