Teens, Texans fare well in Round One of Shotgun contest; crowd favorite Jamie Riggs defeated after three ties
Reno, Nev. — Texan Scott Robertson shot the only perfect score in the first round of the shotgun competition Thursday night at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge, but performances by three teenagers caused nonstop, raucous cheering throughout the evening at Rancho San Rafael Park.
Two of the teenagers, Brett Dorak, 17, of Wisconsin and Travis Mears, 16, of Texas advanced to Friday's final round with scores of 18 and 17, respectively.
The scores are based on the number of clays they broke out of 20. The shotgun competition requires fast, accurate shooting and smooth, quick reloading. Within each 20-shot match, competitors alternate shooting five targets each. The targets are released 3.5 seconds apart during the regular round, but that time is reduced to 3 seconds in the elimination rounds. A shooter cannot have more than two shells in the shotgun, and the targets are released from three machines spaced evenly in an 85-foot line.
In each competitor's five targets, two are "rabbits," targets that roll and bounce along the ground; and three are "teal," targets that fly relatively straight up into the air.
The most exciting match of the night was a grudge match between Jamie Riggs, 18, of Tennessee and Tre Sides of Alabama. Riggs and Sides faced off in May in a match that went into multiple tie-breakers, with Sides eventually winning by a single target. This time, Riggs, the only woman in the 16-shooter field, took the 2002 silver medalist into three tie-breaking rounds before bowing out. Riggs and Sides finished their first round tied with 18, and then tied 4-4 and 5-5 in the first two elimination rounds before Sides prevailed 5-3 in the final five-shot round.
Tree Topping: Canadians, Americans face off in semifinals
It's Americans versus Canadians in the semi-final round of the Tree Topping competition at the 2003 ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge, with two international match-ups slated for Friday afternoon.
Canadian Wade Stewart, the 2002 gold medalist, defeated Bryan Schultz of Silverdale, Wash. In the quarter-finals, setting Stewart up for a showdown with Ed Smith of Eatonville, Wash., who outpaced Columbus, Neb.'s Guy German on his way to the semi-finals.
The other international match-up pits 2002 silver medalist Greg Hart of Canada against 2002 bronze medalist Brian Bartow of Grants Pass, Ore.
Men's Timber Endurance: 2002 medalists stay alive into semifinals
The sixteen-man field competing in Men's Timber Endurance narrowed to eight Friday heading into the semi-final round at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.
New Zealand's David Bolstad already sports two medals: a gold from Thursday's Springboard competition and a silver from Thursday's Hot Saw event, but he has his eye on a few more and defeated Australia's Matthew Gurr in round one.
He'll have his work cut out for him. The field remains strong and includes 2002 Men's Timber Endurance gold medalist Matt Bush of Croghan, N.Y., who defeated Rob Waibel of West Linn, Ore. in the opening round.
Bolstad's fellow Kiwi Jason Wynyard, the bronze medalist in both Hot Saw and Springboard, also is still alive and looking to improve upon his 2002 bronze medal performance in the endurance battle.
The competition is an all-around skills test, challenging competitors to chop and saw their way through a grueling race, made no easier by the punishing, 90-plus-degree temperatures at Rancho San Rafael Park. The competition wraps up late Saturday afternoon.
Top outdoor athletes from around the world compete for entry into the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, held in Reno-Tahoe July 10-13. The ultimate championship of outdoor sports features one-of-a-kind, head-to-head competition in timber and target events, sporting dogs, and fishing. While entertaining large crowds on site, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games also draws a worldwide television audience airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports beginning July 19.
