Burrows wins gold and silver medals at Pan American Games

Brian Burrows won two medals at the Pan American Games.

The 2007 Fallbrook High School graduate won the gold medal in the men's trap shooting event. Burrows and Rachel Tozier took the silver medal in the mixed trap shooting competition in which their American counterparts won by a single shot in the tiebreaking round.

The Pan American Games were held in Lima, Peru, and the trap shooting competition took place July 29-31 at Las Palmas Air Base in Lima.

Burrows attended Cal State University San Marcos after his Fallbrook High School graduation and, in 2009, he relocated to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He was there for three years before moving to Simi Valley and has been living in Torrance for approximately one year.

"I didn't have any ambitions of getting back on the team and traveling the world again. I went out to shoot with a friend," Burrows said. "I got talked back into going and shooting for fun and then I started doing well."

That recreational shooting was in Colorado. The 2018 National Championships match was in early fall in Colorado Springs. "My friend talked me into going and shooting nationals," Burrows said.

Burrows' first match after his three years away from the sport was USA Shooting's Summer Selection Match competition in Kerrville, Texas, in August 2018. Burrows placed second in his first competition in three years.

He then returned to the United States National Team after finishing third at the National Championships. "It's been a crazy year," Burrows said.

The International Shooting Sports Federation's World Cup match was held in March in Acapulco, Mexico. Burrows and Kayle Browning of Wooster, Arkansas, were one of the mixed trap teams. During the qualifying rounds to determine the finalists, Burrows and Browning were given 75 shots apiece. They hit 149 of the 150 targets to set a new world record. The previous world record for 150 targets was 146 successful shots.

"It was just an incredible experience. For not shooting for three years to a world record in six months was pretty incredible," Burrows said.

The qualifying rounds determined the six finalists, but the qualifying scores were not carried over. Burrows and Browning had 25 shots apiece in the final round and hit 43 targets for second place.

The qualifying competition for the Pan American Games was in Tucson from Feb. 28 to March 3. The top two men made the Pan American Games squad. Derek Haldeman, who is originally from Ohio and is currently a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit based at Fort Benning in Georgia, placed first. Burrows was second.

Changwon, Korea, was the site of the ISSF shotgun World Cup match in May. Burrows placed 57th among the 109 participants. "I did not do very well," he said.

Burrows was in fourth place entering the final round. "I just got tight and started missing," he said.

The next competition for Burrows was the ISSF's World Championship match in Lonato del Garda, Italy, in July. He placed 62nd among the 157 entrants. "That was a rough competition for me," Burrows said. "In Changwon I felt that I shot good with the exception of one round. In Lonato I kind of struggled through the whole competition."

Burrows was retained on the United States national team and redeemed himself in the Pan American Games. The individual competition took place July 29 and July 30. The first two rounds of 25 shots apiece were contested July 29 and Burrows hit 48 of his 50 targets.

Burrows missed two of his targets in the first July 30 round but then missed a combined two targets for the final two qualifying rounds to give him 119 hits out of 125 targets and fifth place entering the finals which carried over the scores from the qualifying rounds.

"It was a competitive score. My teammate, Derek Haldeman, shot a 120 which qualified him for third place in the finals," Burrows said.

Jose Orozco Diaz of Mexico entered the finals in first place with 123 successful shots in the qualifying rounds. Alessandro De Souza of Peru was second with 122 hits. Haldeman shared third with Roberto Schmits of Brazil, who also hit 120 targets. The sixth finalist, Matthew Van Haaren of Canada, was successful on 116 of his shots.

The finals began with 25 targets, and the shooter with the lowest score dropped out after each round. Van Haaren was eliminated after the first 25 shots. The subsequent rounds were five targets apiece and in the first of those Orozco Diaz dropped out.

Burrows then staved off elimination against De Souza. "He hit his last target and for me to advance to the finals I needed to hit mine," he said. "I ended up hitting the target, which eliminated the Peruvian."

That left the two Americans and Schmits, who hit three of his next five shots. "I had to hit my last target. I hit five straight," Burrows said.

Men's trap shooting has a quota formula for the Olympics and the nations with the gold and silver medals at the Pan American Games qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. "I knew if I hit it the United States would have two entries," Burrows said. "I ended up hitting it, and it was an incredible bonus."

That guaranteed the two Americans the top two positions. The final round consisted of 10 targets apiece. "We refocused," Burrows said.

Haldeman hit eight targets. "I was able to shoot all 10 which propelled me to the gold," Burrows said.

The gold medal put Burrows on the podium and the United States national anthem was played as his gold medal was presented. "It was just an incredible experience," he said.

"It was just absolutely phenomenal," Burrows said. "It was a great match."

A subsequent competition will determine which two Americans participate in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but the United States is now allocated two men's trap shooters. "We haven't qualified in the last two Olympics," Burrows said. "We haven't sent anybody."

Women's trap also has that quota formula for the Olympics, and the United States will send two women shooters to Tokyo. Ashley Carroll of Solvang won the Pan American Games gold medal and Tozier, who is originally from Missouri and is also with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in Fort Benning, received the silver medal. "They went one-two by a very convincing margin," Burrows said.

The Olympics mixed trap event does not utilize a quota formula, but the Americans swept the top two positions in all three trap events at the Pan American Games. Burrows teamed with Tozier in the July 31 mixed trap and Haldeman was paired with Carroll.

The mixed trap began with three qualifying rounds of 25 shots by the man and 25 shots by the woman. Burrows and Tozier hit 140 of their 150 targets. "We were happy with that. The range wasn't as easy as in Mexico," Burrows said.

Haldeman and Carroll entered the finals in second place with 138 successful shots.

The final consisted of 25 targets for each shooter. "After the final we were even. We were tied for first," Burrows said.

That created an eight-target shoot off to determine first and second. "The fact that we competed against each other was a lot of fun because it was U.S. versus U.S. for the gold medal," Burrows said.

Haldeman and Carroll hit all eight of their targets. Burrows and Tozier had seven hits.

"I was not disappointed with the silver. It was a great competition. It was a lot of fun competing against my teammates for the gold," Burrows said. "As Team USA we represented very well."

Burrows expects his next competition will be in Kerrville in September and he will also shoot in Tucson in March 2020. Those two matches will also be used as the Olympic trials.

"I'm just so thankful for all the support from all my family and friends, and I've just got to give God all the glory," Burrows said.