Trap Shooters Headed To National Junior Olympics

Six student shooters have earned invitations to represent Connecticut at this summer’s National Junior Olympics in Colorado.

The state qualifying competition for international trap shooting, held recently, took place at the Fairfield County Fish & Game Club in Newtown for the third straight year.

CJ Ehrentraut, a 13-year-old from Beacon Falls, took home the Connecticut title and a gold medal. The win came after a tie with Trevor Harvey, a 19-year-old from New Canaan; both shooters hit 121 of 125 targets.

Third place bronze was taken by 14-year-old Nicholas Fatse, of Sandy Hook, who broke 116 clay pigeons.

Also qualifying to compete at the 2009 USA Shooting Shotgun National Junior Olympics were 16-year-old Derek Harvey of New Canaan, 19-year-old Mat Apgar of Bridgeport and 16-year-old Leslie Barnard of Armonk, NY. The Nationals will be held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs July 31 and August 1.

All shooters are members of USA Shooting, the governing body of shooting sports for the United States Olympic Committee.

The youth clay target program has been made possible by the support of the home club, Fairfield County Fish & Game Protective Association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association and generous donations from individual sportsmen.