Sharyland grad heading to 2008 Olympics
McALLEN - Sean McLelland's precision with a shotgun is sending him to China.
The 2004 Sharyland High graduate finished second at the 2008 Olympic Trials this weekend at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center in Kerrville.
He is now set to join the three-member U.S. Skeet Shooting Team this summer in Beijing.
"This is a dream come true," the 22-year-old said. "Even more so considering what I had to go through this weekend."
McLelland started Saturday in first place with a one-shot advantage over second place, but dropped to third after three of four rounds.
That's when McLelland's Olympic bid nearly came to a crashing halt.
But during the day's final round, McLelland hit 24 out of 25 targets, leaving him in second, two shots behind the leader. McLelland made 24 of 25 shots in the final two rounds Sunday, then duplicated the feat during the Super Finals, where the top six competitors shoot an additional 25 targets. When the smoke cleared, McLelland finished second.
Vincent Hancock of Georgia won the event by hitting 511 of 550 shots during the two qualifying events - the first qualifier was October in Colorado Springs, Colo. McLelland finished the Olympic qualifier by hitting 502 targets.
"It was about as an emotional weekend as you can have," said McLelland, who attends Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. and is a member of the four-time defending national championship shooting team.
During this weekend's trials, competitors shot from eight locations 12 to 21 feet away during each 25-shot round, with some stops including doubles. Competitors had to keep their guns waist-high until the 4-inch clays shot out of the machine at speeds in excess of 60 mph. When doubles went into the air, shots were fired one-quarter of a second apart.
"This is nine years in the making for me," said McLelland, who was born in Brownsville. "Back when I was at Sharyland, I shot in the local 4-H club. And then it led to a college scholarship, and now it's going to lead me to the summer Olympics.
