Jump to content

Syracuse.com - Phelps teenage trap shooting phenomenon looking forward to another impressive season


Recommended Posts

Last year, Justin Slater and two other junior sharpshooters won the junior, three-person team competition at the Grand American in Sparta, Ill.

10976589-large.jpgStephen Canerelli/The Post-StandardJustin Slater

Justin Slater is one teen who aims to better and better.

That was confirmed this week after I talked with Leslie Slater, the mother of the teenage, trap-shooting phenomenon. I wrote about him last summer and called to see how he was doing.

Justin is currently a senior at Phelps-Clinton High School in Ontario County. He had a great shooting season last year and barring any unexpected problems appears on track to have another one, his mother said.

The young shooter, who competes locally for the Skaneateles Rod and Gun Club, led the 726-member, CNY Trap League last summer with a shooting percentage of 97.4.

Even more impressive were Justin’s performances during three weekends last year when he logged three instances of 200 consecutive hits. His marksmanship resulted in championships at the Keystone Open in Elysburg, Pa.; the Empire Grand at Bridgeport, N.Y. and the Great Lakes Open in Mason, Mich.

Those performances earned him a spot on the cover of the July issue of Trap & Field Magazine, the national publication of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

The proud mom said at the end of last year her son was recognized with All-American Junior status by the American Trap Shooting Association. He was selected as this year’s New York State junior captain.

Last year, he and junior shooters Christopher Vendel, of Ontario, and Shane Rodas, of Framington, won the junior, three-person team competition at the Grand American in Sparta, Illinois.

At the Sparta competition, Justin, who wears custom-made, earplugs while shooting so he can listen to his favorite bands (Bon Jovi and AC/DC), hit 996 out of 1,000 single targets, his mom said.

This fall, he’ll be attending Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn., where he plans to study criminal justice/environmental studies. He was given a $10,000 grant to shoot for the college’s trap-shooting team, the mother said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...