Amity Athlete earns Invitation to Junior Olympic Shooting Championships

Each year student athletes from around the country compete in regional competitions to earn an invitation to the USA Shooting Junior Olympic Shooting Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. 

They compete in two disciplines, 10 meter air rifle and three position smallbore rifle, for both Men and Women. 

Many people don’t realize that Shooting is an Olympic Sport. 

The Junior Olympic program is an important developmental program for up and coming athletes in all of the Olympic sports. This year is particularly important with the London games just months away.

For the second consecutive year, Amity High School Junior, Anthony Cuozzo Jr., of Orange, has earned a spot as one of the top 112 Air Rifle competitors in the country. 

Anthony will be headed to the Olympic Training Center where he will live and compete with other athletes vying for a spot on the Junior Olympic National Air Rifle Shooting Team. 

In addition, many college coaches will be watching closely as they recruit top shooters for their own programs, many of whom will be heading to college in the next few years. 

Shooting also is an NCAA sport in all Divisions. 

Anthony has been shooting for five years and is a member of the Stratford P.A.L. Junior Rifle Club, and is a member of the Connecticut Rifle and Revolver Associations All-State High School Team.

His coaches, Tony Panko and Alan Wilcoxson have help Anthony develop into a nationally ranked athlete. 

Coach Panko previously coached his now adult daughters and Coach Wilcoxson is an All-American rifleman from St. Johns University. 

Shooting isn’t all that interests Anthony, he is an avid snowboarder and is restoring a 1976 VW Beetle.