Junior Olympic Championships: Smith, Moschetti Win Skeet Titles

by
posted on July 2, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
moschetti-smith-together2018-1.jpg

The final day of the 2018 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships (NJOSC) for Shotgun concluded with the 2018 Skeet champions receiving honors at the International Shooting Park at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs, CO. Austen Smith is this year’s Women’s Skeet champion, and Nic Moschetti won the Men’s Skeet championship.

Both the Women’s and Men’s events had the gold and silver medals decided for both Finals by one target. For the women, competing in windy conditions, Smith (Keller, TX) narrowly edged out the top finisher in Qualification, Sam Simonton (Gainesville, GA) to win the gold with 54 in the Final. Simonton had a 121 Qualification score and 53 in the Final. Last year’s NJOSC champion, Jacenta Jacob (Rochester, MI), finished in third place for the bronze medal, scoring 115 plus 40 in the Final.

“This match was crazy!” said Smith. “There was a lot of wind and I didn’t shoot exactly what I wanted to, but it worked out in the end. On the last shot I was shaking like crazy.”

2018 NJOSC Women's Skeet Top 3
The top three in Women's Skeet: (l. to r.) Sam Simonton, Austen Smith and Jacenta Jacob


The Men’s Skeet competition had the top finisher in Qualification, Eli Christman (Hixson, TN), battled his training partner, Moschetti (Broomfield, CO) for the NJOSC Men’s title.

“It’s been quite the whirlwind, literally,” said Moschetti. “It’s been really windy and hot these last few days and it’s made competition intense. Scores were up and down all over the place … It was my last Junior Olympics so I was glad I could go out on top.”

2018 NJOSC Men's Skeet Top 3
The top three in Men's Skeet: (l. to r.) Eli Christman, Nic Moschetti and Trey Wright


It wasn’t until target no. 56 during the Final, when Christman finally missed a bird, that Moschetti would defend his NJOSC title, beating Christman 54 to 53. Moschetti won last year in a shoot off with Christman. The 2016 NJOSC champ, Trey Wright (Albany, GA) was the bronze medalist with a Finals score of 44.

“Christman and I have trained together for the past month so I figured it would come down to he and I, just with how we’ve been shooting,” Moschetti added. “It’s fun getting to shoot against my training partner. I liked that it got down to one target between us—shows [that] we’re both strong shooters and made for a good Final.”

Story and photos courtesy of USA Shooting

Latest

Mullers ARC July2025 1
Mullers ARC July2025 1

NRA Announces Dianna & Ryan Muller As Brand Ambassadors For America’s Rifle Challenge

NRA announces Dianna & Ryan Muller as brand ambassadors for America’s Rifle Challenge program, promoting AR-15 marksmanship, safety and training.

Eley’s New Trial Packs Let Competition Shooters Find Their Perfect Rimfire Match Ammo

Eley launches trial ammo packs to help shooters test and match precision .22 LR rounds to their firearms.

Ava Downs Captures Junior Olympic Trap Title On Home Turf

Hillsdale’s Ava Downs takes gold in women’s trap at the 2025 USA Shooting Junior Olympic Championships hosted at the Halter Center.

Brandon Powell Claims 8th Georgia State Sporting Clays Title

Brandon Powell wins his eighth Georgia State Sporting Clays Championship, continuing his dominance with multiple top finishes at the 2025 tournament.

Vincent Hancock Claims 30th ISSF Medal As Team USA Dominates 2025 Lonato World Cup

Team USA shines at 2025 ISSF Lonato World Cup with golds from Vincent Hancock and Sam Simonton, plus silver for Dania Vizzi.

Jon Shue Clinches Third Straight NRA National Precision Pistol Championship Title

Shue continues his dominant streak in bullseye pistol shooting after 2025 NRA National Precision Pistol Championship victory.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.