FORT BENNING, Ga., Sept. 4, 2002 -- A U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit soldier took home the gold medal Aug. 28 in the 2002 USA Shooting Junior Olympic Shooting Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Pvt. Matthew T. Wallace, 19, battled a steady, bone-chilling rain and a strong field of competitors to emerge as America's best young male international trap shooter. Wallace, a native of Stanton, Tenn., came out of the rain-soaked qualifying round in third with a score of 113 of a possible 125 targets. At that point, he was two targets behind Drew Denison, 18, of Hereford, Texas, and one behind Joshua Richmond, 16, of Hillsgrove, Pa.

A score of 20 from Dennison and a 19 from Richmond in the final round, however, were no match for Wallace's powerful 24 of 25 targets. The USAMU shooter won the gold medal with a total of 137.