Canton teen wins two national shooting titles

11 months, 4 weeks ago

Garrett Spurgeon,  recently won the National Junior Small-Bore Championship and the National Jr. Air Rifle Championship at the USA Shooting Rifle and Pistol Championships and Olympic Trials held at Fort Benning, Ga., June 1-11.  He had previously secured an alternate spot for the 2012 Men's Olympic Air Rifle Team. He is the  son of Larry and Joann Spurgeon of Canton.

Going into the Junior finals of the 10m Air Rifle event, he trailed by a margin of four points, but as an experienced competitor, having shot in the final before, he had an advantage over the first place shooter. He shot an amazing 10 shot final of 103.5 points to take the lead and secure the Gold Medal and the National Jr. Air Rifle Championship.

On the  50m small-bore range and after 120 match shots, he was tied for the eight position for the finals. At the end of five shots and out shooting his opponent by 2.4 points. Shooting the final against members of the Army Marksmanship Unit, former Olympians and resident athletes, he was the underdog, but he shot one of the highest finals of 101.5 points, only equaled by Olympian Jason Parker. Spurgeon finished the three day match in ninth place, missing an alternate spot in small bore on the Olympic team by a slim margin of one point.  He did win the National Jr. 3-p Small-bore championship, which comes with an appointment to the National Jr. Small-bore Rifle Team.

Spurgeon, a 2012 Canton High School graduate, will continue his rifle shooting this fall at the University of West Virginia and looks forward to qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.