| Rifle Shooter Wins Qualifier Sixth Great Outdoor Games
PITTSBURGH—It shaped up as a battle of underdogs as every higher-seeded competitor was knocked off in the first round of Saturday’s ESPN Great Outdoor Games rifle qualifier.
In the end, it was the oldest of the ’dogs—a veteran marksman who in earlier rounds had struggled mightily against the clock to make the final field of eight shooters—who proved to be the quickest and best when it counted most.
Randy Hollowbush, 58, of Topton, Pa., will head back to the Great Outdoor Games for a sixth straight year after outlasting all competitors at the Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club. Also qualifying for the Games was runner-up Richard Aitken of Peyton, Colo.
Television crews taped the qualifier for broadcast May 12 and 15 on ESPN2.
“I guess I can put my heart back in my chest now,” Hollowbush said after the win. “I always have to borrow someone else’s heart when I compete in this game, because mine won’t take it.”
Hollowbush—seeded sixth among the eight finalists—upset third-seeded Robbie Purser of Macon, Ga., in the first round and then cruised through his next two matches, beating Don Clark of Hollidaysburg, Pa., and then capitalizing on Aitken’s gun jam in the final.
“This was a real horserace,” Aitken said. “Anybody can step up and win here. This was just Randy’s day. That’s the first time I’ve had a gun jam in a long time. It wasn’t a good time for a jam, but the jam isn’t what beat me. I have to hand it to Randy— the old guy was just better than me today.”
Before his gun troubles, Aitken shot well in Saturday’s competition. He was nearly flawless in the second round, hitting his first ten targets with ten shots.
Both Hollowbush and Aitken will move on to the 2005 Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge at the Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Range in Lakeland, Fla., July 7-10.
In the rifle competition, shooters go head-to-head and race each other to see who can hit 14 targets the quickest in one minute. The final four targets—called the “dueling tree”—allow shooters to un-score their opponents and bring the entire match down to a flurry of action.
Hollowbush’s first round came down to the final seconds as he outlasted Purser on the dueling tree.
“I was a little apprehensive about the first run because Robbie’s a really good shooter and I’ve never shot against him before,” he said.
Hollowbush, a custom gun shop owner, has been shooting competitively for 25 years. His best finish at the Great Outdoor Games came in 2000, when he placed fifth in rifle.
Aitken is no stranger to the Great Outdoor Games either, competing in all but the event’s first year. His best finishes were eighth in shotgun at last year’s Games and fifth in rifle in 2002. He will compete in both shooting disciplines this year.
The biggest upset of Saturday’s qualifier came when local shooter Dave Woodbridge defeated top-seeded Jorge Rodriguez of Henderson, Nev., in the first round. Rodriguez’s gun jammed in mid match.
Woodbridge, of nearby Mingo Junction, Ohio, said his wife talked him into trying out for the competition.
“I just wanted to watch, but she said ‘You need to shoot.’ So I tried it and here I am,” Woodbridge said.
Since the Great Outdoor Games began in 2000, the rifle and shotgun competitions have been sponsored and organized by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry.
“Reaching millions of viewers each year, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games shine a spotlight on the shooting sports like no other event. We are very pleased to be able to work with ESPN again this year on what has become a premier showcase for our sports,” said Cyndi Dalena, NSSF’s director of shooting sports development.
Final Results:
1. Randy Hollowbush, Topton, Pa.
2. Richard Aitken, Peyton, Colo.
3. Don Clark, Hollidaysburg, Pa.
4. Dave Woodbridge, Mingo Junction, Ohio
5. Al Greco, Beaver Falls, Pa.
5. Robbie Purser, Macon, Ga.
5. Keith Brown, Greensboro, N.C.
5. Jorge Rodriguez, Henderson, Nev.
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