ANNISTON; TALLADEGA, Ala. – Formerly known as the Dixie Double, the Alabama Airgun & Smallbore Cup (AASC) was held Oct. 9-12 at the Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center in Alabama, hosted by the Civilian Marksmanship Program. A group of over 140 adults and juniors participated in the inaugural event, which included two days of 60 Shot air rifle and air pistol competitions.
This year, the event also featured a 50-meter three-position smallbore rifle competition. The match was held just down the road from the Competition Center at the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) Talladega Marksmanship Park, with nearly 70 participants overall.
“We’d like to thank everyone for coming out this year to the Alabama Airgun and Smallbore Cup,” said JT Schnering, Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center manager. “It was a great atmosphere with individuals from all around the U.S. and Canada. And, adding the second day of smallbore was great for our competitors, allowing even more value for their time with us in Alabama.”
Leading the air rifle competition was SPC Jared Eddy, 25, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). He was followed closely by USAMU teammate and two-time Olympian SSG Sagen Maddelena, 32, while Peter Fiori, 25, earned third.
Two of those athletes went on to take the top spots in the smallbore rifle match, with Fiori reaching first, USAMU’s SGT Levi Clark, 27, in second and Maddalena in third.
Marley Bowden, 17, of Harpersville, AL, was the overall winner of the junior air rifle event, with Borui Wang, 13, of Barnaby, BC, Canada, and Katelynn McEntee, 17, of Tampa, FL, respectively finding second and third.
Junior smallbore rifle winners included Logan Sanchez, 16, of Windsor, CO, in first, Cohen Ahner, 17, Los Lunas, NM, in second and Micah Waguespack, 17, of Gramercy, LA, in third.
In air pistol, Nathalia Tobar Prado, 38, Anniston, AL, earned a commanding win by a seven-point margin over second place finisher Pranav Kamath, 26, of Wichita Falls, TX. Kara Ehmer, 47, of Atlanta, GA, landed in third.
Aidan Duan, 13, of Surrey, BC, Canada, claimed a tight junior air pistol competition by only tenths of a point over Vaishnavi Bethi, 15, of Clarksville, TN, as Jorja Litwiler, 17, of Benton, LA, earned third.
For extra competitive fun, a two-person (adult and junior pair) aggregate team match was held concurrently with the open air gun matches.
Team Competition Winners:
Air Rifle: Southern Slayers (Marley Bowden, Gianluca Soldavini) – 2,497.6
Air Pistol: LOCK and LOAD (Nathalia Tobar Prado, Aidan Duan) – 1,128-28X
Outside of the Competition Center, an exciting Target Sprint (combining marksmanship and running) was also held to add even more challenges for guests to the AASC.
Target Sprint Adults (18+):
- Bernardo Tobar, 47, Phenix City, AL
- Clay Sell, 20, Winner, SD
- Hank Gray, 46, Anniston, AL
Target Sprint Juniors:
- Nathaniel Kauffman, 17, of York, PA
- Ethan Erwin, 16, of Granbury, TX
- James Tucker, 14, of Edgewood, NM
Find a complete list of results of the 2025 Alabama Airgun and Smallbore Cup at https://ct.thecmp.org/AASC25Results. Photos of the event may be found on the CMP’s Zenfolio page at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f20535099.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation that places its highest priority on firearms safety and marksmanship activities, with a focus on youth. CMP’s programs encourage personal growth and build life skills, with such initiatives as its junior training and competition programs, Affiliated Club program and scholarships providing support to citizens of all backgrounds across the nation. Learn more about the CMP at https://thecmp.org/.
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