“If you look at a regular piece of newsprint and look at a period at the end of the sentence, that period is bigger than the target they’re shooting at,” Junior Galway Rifle Team coach Chuck Boykin said.
Galway High School’s Breanna Flint and Logan Ogden make the journey to the U.S. Olympic Training Center along with Ballston Spa High School’s Alexandria Harrington to compete with over 500 junior shooters across the country over a 17-day span this month. The top two finishers in each timed event make it on the USA Shooting’s National Junior Team.
Flint, Harrington and Ogden compete on a six-person team, within the junior club of 30 kids, which practices at the Galway Fish and Game Club and competes in numerous section, state and national championships.
“Between the bunch of them, they’ve won just about everything around for the past several years,” Boykin said.
Each member of the trio shot above qualifying scores at the Junior Olympic tryout at the Iroquois Rod & Gun Club in Rotterdam back in January to earn their ticket west.
Boykin, who has been coaching the sport for the better part of the last 35 years, has seen five competitive members of his past club teams earn Division I scholarships.
Flint, 18, is one of them.
The senior team captain will be going to the University of Tennessee at Martin on a shooting scholarship, where she wants to pursue her goal of being a veterinarian. Flint was the News Channel 13 Dunkin’ Donuts High School Player of the Week in the last week of January, and is making her second consecutive trip to The Springs this month.
She will be competing in the Women’s Rifle Smallbore (.22-caliber), April 11, which is shot in prone, kneeling and standing positions.
Harrington, a 16-year-old junior, will be competing in the air rifle portion of the match, which is shot in the standing position only, on April 9.
“[Alexandria]’s shooting some really high scores,” said Boykin. “Some college coaches have expressed interest in getting her to go to college at their place.”
The youngest of the trio, Logan Ogden, 14, won the New York State Air Rifle Championship and also earned a qualifying score in Rotterdam.
“He’s probably the best shooter on the team, although the two girls are very close to him,” Boykin said. “He’s a very good shot. He’s a little too young to be thinking of colleges yet, but he’s going to have coaches lined up for miles to talk to him.”
Ogden typically shoots in the low 580’s. Putting that into perspective, the scores are out of a maximum 600 points, which has Boykin anticipating the future of the 14-year-old who is already pushing Olympic scores.
Both girls shoot in the high 570’s on average.
All three have Olympic dreams. In the past, members of the Galway Rifle Team have been later invited to the Olympic trials but have not made the team that takes just two individuals to represent the country.
Boykin foresees the individuals on his current team to one day have their shot at Olympic trials as well.
“These are some of the best kids I’ve ever had,” Boykin said. “They’re all good kids. Most people don’t realize what’s involved in the sport. It’s extremely difficult, but these kids are exceptional.”
