After six days, hundreds of targets and a field deep enough to bury most shooters, Connor Daniel came out of the 2026 U.S. Open holding the junior title.
Daniel, who shoots for Team Winchester and Team White Flyer, posted a score of187x200 in the Main Event to capture the Junior title at the 2026 National Sporting Clays Association U.S. Open, held at Game Unlimited in Hudson, Wisconsin, from Aug. 11-16.
His setup stayed the same all week: a Beretta DT11 EELL over-under paired with Winchester AA Lite Handicap, a 1-ounce load of 7.5 shot moving at 1,290 fps.
Daniel didn’t confine himself to the Main Event, either. He finished third among juniors in the Beretta Gold Cup, fourth in Five-Stand and fifth in FITASC, giving him a scoring finish in every discipline he entered.
The week’s other headline for Team Winchester and Team White Flyer belonged to Anthony I. Matarese, Jr., who won the FITASC championship outright and finished third in the Beretta Gold Cup. Matarese also won Pro Class in the Winchester/White Flyer preliminary event, took third in the Promatic prelim, fourth in Super Sporting Pro Class and sixth in Main Event Pro Class—six top finishes in a single week.
Desi Edmunds gave the two teams a second championship, winning the Five-Stand Lady title. She added a sixth-place Lady finish in the Main Event, fifth in the Promatic prelim and sixth in the Beretta Gold Cup.
Zach Kienbaum landed three Pro Class finishes, going third in the Winchester/White Flyer prelim, third in Five-Stand and fifth in the Promatic prelim. Joe Fanizzi and Eric Harvey both finished inside the top five of Main Event Pro Class, with Harvey adding a third in Super Sporting and a runner-up spot in Beretta Gold Cup Master Class.
Rounding out the group, Kevin Demichiel took fourth in Five-Stand Pro Class, Kayla Wilgus finished third among Lady shooters in the Promatic prelim and Mike Wilgus posted a pair of thirds in Veteran, in the Promatic prelim and Five-Stand.
Complete scores from the U.S. Open are posted at the Score Chaser website. Find out more about Winchester at winchester.com and White Flyer at whiteflyer.com.
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