Ainsley Harrington, 14, has a sharp eye for trap shooting. She’s been shooting for just two years, and last week she placed first in a national competition in the Ladies Division 1A from the 21-yard line.
Harrington said, “I was very excited but humbled.”
At the competition, she achieved a personal best by shooting 75 clay targets without missing one.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) hosted the eight-day 2016 Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) nationals in Marengo, Ohio.
Harrington is the daughter of Tony and Lori Harrington of Bartlett and is a rising freshman at St. Agnes in Memphis.
She has plenty of other honors, including her rank as seventh in the nation for 16-yard singles. She has been named first in the district, first in the region, sixth in the state and seventh in the nation for regular trap shooting.
She is one of only three females in the U.S. selected for the Junior Olympic Development Camp this August at the U.S.A. Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
She’s now getting extra coaching and plans to continue shooting in the off-season by practicing at the field and going to ATA tournaments. She wants to stay competitive, she said.
Her little brother, Andrew, piped up with pride and added, “Actually, I think everybody is trying to keep up with you!”
The family is buying her a new gun, and it’s not inexpensive. Her mom told her, “That’s your car.” And that is just fine with Ainsley, who plans to make the most of her shooting skills.
“The gun will get me more places than a car will,” she said.
