Elissa Barron was eager to compete in the National Junior Olympics Championships for air rifle later this month.
Unfortunately, like most other sporting events, the USA Shooting Leadership was forced to postpone the event originally scheduled for April 9-11 at Colorado Springs, Colorado, because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the change in date, advancing to a national championship still comes as an impressive feat for the North Star sophomore.
“I was very excited (to advance),” said Barron after learning she had qualified. “I knew that I had placed well, but they had not sent out any invitations yet. When they did, it was an exciting moment because it was something that I wanted to strive for my freshman year, and I didn’t get it. Doing it in my second year is a pretty proud moment for me.”
Barron won the 2019 Pennsylvania Women’s Championship in the National Rifle Association’s three-position small-bore outdoor rifle competition held at Murrysville Sportsman’s Club outdoor range to qualify for the national competition.
At that event, Barron, who is a member of the Jerome Sportsmen’s Club Junior Rifle Team, shot a high score of 2,154-40x out of a field of more than 100 competitors.
While the competition is already prestigious in and of itself, it is also a chance for colleges to scout the amateurs competing, which for Barron is an added bonus.
“It’s pretty special because there are colleges that will come out and look at you,” said Barron. “You have the opportunity to be recruited there, and they can keep an eye on you.”
Barron is also a part of the North Star High School rifle team that finished tied for first in the WestPAC conference along with Conemaugh Township and Meyersdale.
During the high school season, she joined the 100 club (a perfect score) in the prone position for the second time in her career. She also finished top 15 in the state in the prone position.
Those accomplishments have given her plenty of confidence as she continues to improve.
“When you’re on the line, and you’re going around the target seeing all 10’s, it’s just exciting,” said Barron. “I think it also encourages my teammates to try and shoot better as well.”
All these achievements in her young career may not have been possible without the rest of her family.
It was her brother’s involvement in the sport that helped Barron earn her start.
“I got into rifle not thinking that I would get this far,” said Barron. “I went to some summer classes my eighth grade year, and my brother was actually in rifle. We had an extra gun, so my parents thought I could go to these classes and see if I would like it. I ended up getting recruited to the traveling team (Jerome Sportsmen’s Junior Rifle team).”
Her parents have been happy to provide encouragement at every competition.
“They’ve been really supportive of me,” said Barron. “They’ve bought most of the supplies I would need, and taken me to the places I need to go. They’ve been by my side during each one of my competitions.”
For her training, Barron typically practices roughly three times a week outside of the high school season to keep her skills sharp.
But because of the virus that has brought the country to a halt, she has had to go without practice the last few weeks.
Despite that, Barron said having the right state of mind can go a long way for her to jump back in and succeed when the time comes.
“I feel pretty confident because if I walk in with the right mindset, I feel I can perform just as good with practice,” said Barron. “In this sport, it is important to have a positive attitude because that will take you farther than just the skill you have.”