 Trapshooter Karly Kiniry, 17, will be one of 15 youths across the U.S. to attend the Junior Olympic Development Camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Joshua Brown/The Salt Lake Tribune) |
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
Not long ago, Bruce Taylor could outshoot his
step-daughter, Karly Kiniry.
Not now.
Only 16 months after taking up trapshooting, Kiniry
regularly wins head-to-head competitions with Taylor, who has been her
mentor in this male-dominated sport.
"For a little
while," he laughs, "I had the upper hand. But things have changed. . . .
All I can say is she's a natural."
A senior at
Hunter High School who turns 18 next month, Kiniry has become so
proficient so quickly at trapshooting that she finds herself on the brink
of making the United States' 2004 Olympic team.
Recently, Kiniry received word that she was one of 15 youngsters from
around the country who had been selected from an original list of 250 to
participate in next week's Junior Olympic Development Camp in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
The top
three shooters from the elite group earn berths on the U.S. Olympic team,
which will compete in Athens next summer.
"That
would be amazing," Kiniry said. "It would be such an honor. I'm honored
just to be going to the training center. It's so exciting."
"Total amazement," said Taylor. "I'm just amazed at
what she's done. . . . We are extremely proud of her."
No wonder.
Beyond her
ability to knock clay targets out of the sky with a shotgun, Kiniry's
upcoming trip to the Junior Olympic Development Camp is a testament to her
academic achievement and character.
She is a 3.968
student, just shy of perfect thanks to a 'B' she received in a physics
class last year. She also is a member of the National Honor Society and
the Hunter High girls' basketball team.
"They
didn't want just good trapshooters," Taylor said. "They wanted good
all-around kids, too."
To that end, shooting scores
were only part of the selection process. Kiniry also was interviewed by
the committee members who picked the finalists. In addition, she had to
write an essay, telling the judges a little more about herself.
Of course, shooting ability counts, too.
%%
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And Kiniry can shoot, despite not taking up the
sport until May of 2002.
"She's a natural," Taylor
said.
"That's what everybody says," Kiniry said. "I
don't think I'm that good. But I practice a lot, and I love the
competition. I shoot as much as I can. . . . I guess I'm doing OK."
During the school year, Kiniry shoots about 100
rounds per week. But during the summer, she participates in competitions
around the state. In those events, she can shoot as many as 300 rounds per
day.
"I love the people you're around," she said,
"and I love the competition."
Still, trapshooting
is not the most common hobby for teenagers. So what do her friends think?
"Nobody really understands what it is," Kiniry
said. "But when I explain it to them -- or they come out and watch -- they
say, 'Wow.' "
Upon graduation from Hunter next
spring, Kiniry hopes to be making a trip to the Olympics. Then, she will
enroll at Snow College and, eventually, Southern Utah University to start
a career in elementary education.
"I just love
working with children," Kiniry said. "I love helping them. . . . I love
showing them new things."
Like a gold medal,
perhaps?
