After a pair of exciting finals, Ava Downs and Cylas Prince claimed championship titles at the 2025 USA Shooting Trap Junior Olympic Championships in Hillsdale, Michigan, on June 22.
More than 100 junior athletes from across the U.S. came to shoot at the annual competition, hosted by Hillsdale College at the John A. Halter Shooting Sports Center. After 125 targets, the top six men and women competitors qualified for the finals, where USA Shooting Junior Olympic championship titles were on the line.
Hailing from Muskego, Wisconsin, Ava Downs qualified for the Women’s Trap final after shooting the high qualification score of 113. The 2025 Junior CAT Games medalist ultimately earned gold after outshooting Olivia Krauss, who claimed silver, and bronze medalist Joy Chen. Downs posted a score of 40 in the final, four points ahead of Knauss.
Downs is a member of the USA Shooting National Trap Team and also competes for the Hillsdale College Shotgun Team. This year’s Junior Olympic championship title adds to her already impressive shooting resume. Earlier this month, she qualified for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games Trap Team at the USA Shooting National Championships and will represent Team USA this August in Asunción, Paraguay. In addition, Downs earned the 2025 Junior National Champion title in Women’s Trap, along with a silver medal in the open women’s category.
Cylas Prince, of Sweetwater, Tennessee, earned his spot in the Men’s Trap final with a qualification score of 115. Prince claimed his first Junior Olympic Champion title, finishing ahead of silver medalist Owen Bin and Ethan Hemsath, who took bronze. Prince's score in the final was 41, one point ahead of Bin.
Prince is a member of the Monroe County Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) team and trains out of the Crossville Shooting Sports Park in Crossville, Tennessee. At only 16 years old, the Junior Olympic champion already has an extensive list of accomplishments in his shooting career. Earlier this month Prince earned gold in Men’s U18 Trap at the 2025 USA Shooting National Championships. He currently holds the national record for Men’s U15 International Trap with an aggregate score of 218 out of 250. Prince has also made the SCTP All-Scholastic Team three consecutive years.
The 2025 Junior Olympic Championships also served as a selection match for the Junior Olympic (JO) Squad. The squad was selected based on the top two finishers from the finals who are not already on the USA Shooting Junior National Team. Prince earned a spot on the JO squad along with Bin, Krauss and Chen. The JO squad will receive a custom Shoot the Moon vest, ammunition and a free entry to the next USA Shooting selection match.
Medals were also awarded in U18 and U15 categories.
You can view all results from the 2025 competition at this link.
USA Shooting thanks Hillsdale College for hosting the competition and for their continued support of the shooting sports pipeline nationwide. In addition, Axil generously contributed podium prizes to recognize and reward outstanding athlete performances.
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