Eddy Marks Dual Wins at 2024 Dixie Double Air Gun & Smallbore Event
November 13, 2024
By Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
ANNISTON; TALLADEGA, Ala. – At the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) annual Dixie Double, SPC Jared Eddy, 24, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, claimed not one, but two overall wins. He bested a field of 100 athletes in air rifle and over 60 in smallbore to find his double victories.
The Dixie Double is an indoor air gun competition for adult and junior athletes held at the Judith Legerski CMP Competition Center in Alabama. The schedule features two days of 60 Shot international air rifle and air pistol competitions for Open and Junior categories, with qualification scores and finals fired each day. A 3×20 smallbore match is also offered at the nearby Talladega Marksmanship Park, fired on CMP’s outdoor line of electronic targets.
“The 2024 Dixie Double went well overall this year, even with a short delay due to a power outage on Day 2 of air gun,” said JT Schnering, manager of the air gun range. “I am very thankful for the range staff that was there, as they unloaded the competitors’ guns immediately while we got the targets back online in the range stand.”
“There are some small tweaks we want to make for next year to make it an even better experience for the athletes and spectators, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back again,” he added.
Following behind Eddy in air rifle was Peter Fiori, 24, of Lebanon, NJ, who improved one spot from his 2023 performance, as Eddy’s U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) teammate, SGT Levi Clark, 26, found third.
In the Junior Air Rifle Match, last year’s champion, Mackenzie Kring, 17, of Peyton, CO, reclaimed her title, while last year’s second place finisher Tyler Wee, 17, of Wake Forest, NC, also landed in the same place in 2024. Grayson Muller, 16, of Shreveport, LA, earned third overall.
The 3×20 smallbore rifle competition made just its second appearance at the Dixie Double, after being introduced at last year’s event. The match is open to both adult and junior athletes.
Finding second behind Eddy in smallbore was Tyler Wee, while the USAMU’s Tim Sherry, 30, earned third. Wee was also the highest scoring junior of the match.
In air pistol, Olympian James Hall, 40, of Rocheport, MO, hung on to overtake the Open match above Timothy Schmeltzer, 27, of Greenville, MI, who finished in second. Nathalia Tobar, 37, of Phenix City, AL, collected the third place spot. Over 30 athletes competed in the discipline.
Reese Metzler, 20, of Elizabeth, CO, led the Junior Air Pistol competition, with Scarlett Perkins, 17, of Tucson, AZ, and Bhargavi Gawande, 15, of Lutz, FL, obtaining second and third, respectively.
Hall and Perkins paired up to form “SASP – Super Awesome Shooting Partners” in the coinciding two-person team match, leading by only x-count with a score of 2219-46X. The team event for both air rifle and air pistol joins a Junior and Open competitor on the firing line, combining their Day 1 and Day 2 qualifying scores from their individual performances.
Leading the air rifle team competition was Bake & Shake (Lucas Kozeniesky and Mackenzie Kring), by a margin of 26 points over the second place team.
Also returning to the Dixie Double in 2024 was the favored Target Sprint, which welcomes individuals ages 10 and up. During the event, participants run along a marked path, occasionally stopping to fire air rifles at five 10-meter falling targets. All targets must be knocked over before participants repeat the route. The first to cross the finish line is declared the winner.
2024 Target Sprint Winners:
Overall Open:
First: Chance Cover, 33, Ardmore, OK
Second: Tim Schmeltzer, 27, Greenville, MI
Third: Will Steffes, 22, Arthur, ND
Overall Junior:
First: Clay Seller, 21, Bulverde, TX
Second: Ben Malave, 16, York, PA
Third: Brian Synstelien, 20, Moorhead, MN
A complete list of results for the 2024 Dixie Double air gun and smallbore match can be found on the CMP’s Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/2024DDResults. Find free downloadable photos of the event at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f356291714.
UPCOMING EVENT: If you’re an air gun athlete, be sure to mark your calendars for our next scheduled match – the 2025 Camp Perry Open! Similar to the Dixie Double, the event, held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center in Ohio, features two days of international-style competition as well as a 3×20 air rifle match for juniors. And, don’t forget the Super Final! Learn more and sign up today at https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/camp-perry-open/.