Statesboro High School's Katlyn Sullivan is Georgia's 2024 Riflery State Champion, and the young markswoman is gaining stature in Olympic and national competitions.
"This feels incredible," Sullivan said after her state win last week. "All the hard work and practice throughout the season truly paid off. I'm so proud to represent Statesboro High School and bring this championship home."
The victory, a first for the 17-year-old Sullivan and Statesboro High, marks a significant achievement for Sullivan and her school. The Georgia High School Association's Riflery State Championship was held in Waycross March 16, at the Ware County Shooting Complex.
"The competition tests marksmanship skills from prone, standing, and kneeling positions, demanding both physical control and focus," said Lt. Col. Eric Heffner, a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp instructor at Statesboro High, and the school's riflery head coach.
Heffner pointed to Sullivan's precision and focus as proving to be a winning combination behind her topping the individual leaderboard in the three-position air rifle competition.
While it was the SHS junior’s first state championship, Sullivan has been successful in several other state and national competitions. In addition to competing for Statesboro High School Riflery, Sullivan shoots competitively for the Shooting Sports Education Center's club team in Statesboro, she has represented the Statesboro American Legion Post 15 in national competitions, and she is a three-time Junior Olympics qualifier for USA Shooting.
And she participates in competitions designed to showcase high school talent to prospective college riflery teams.
Aiming for the Olympics
Sullivan has qualified and been invited by USA Shooting to the National Rifle Junior Olympic Championships for the past three years, competing well and rising in the national ranks with each competition and striving toward her goal of possibly competing in an Olympics one day.
Olympic Trials are a three-stage competition and shooters must complete all three stages. The top two shooters and one alternate represent the United States in the Olympics, which for 2024, are in Paris.
During this year's trials, which were held in September 2023 in Fort Moore, Ga., December 2023 in Colorado Springs, and January 2024 in Anniston, Ala., Sullivan ranked 24th out of 79 shooters.
Shooters in the competition ranged in age from high school and college students to adult marksmen. They also included some past Olympians.
In July 2023, Sullivan competed in the American Legion 3-Position Junior Air Rifle Championship at the Olympic Training Center USA Shooting range in Colorado Springs, and despite competing while under the weather, she still came away with marks that were a personal best, which she said kept her motivated for future national competitions.
Also, in July 2023, Sullivan traveled to Port Clinton, Ohio, to the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Camp Perry, for a week's worth of national-level competition.
She won first place in the National 3-Position Air Rifle Junior Olympic Championships and second place in the Civilian Marksmanship Program's National Championship for her Under 17 age group. For all age categories competing in the competitions, she ranked 13th and 15th respectively out of 260 competitors.
In September 2023, she competed in the Ole Miss Rifle Open and tied for sixth overall out of 24 shooters. She shot personal bests in both air rifle and smallbore at the competition. The event is designed to give college teams a chance to scout prospective high school athletes and possibly offer them positions on their teams as they ready to graduate.
The fact that Sullivan, since she was a high school freshman, has been invited to the highest levels of national competitions in her sport, speaks to her talent and possible future.
