By NATHAN WHALEN

Special to the News-Times

Three Oak Harbor shooters traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in early April to compete in the Junior Olympics.

Victoria Zarate, Madison Thompson, and Jameson O’Hara competed in the air rifle competition. In addition, Zarate competed in the small-bore rifle competition.

“The experience was amazing,” Zarate, who is a junior at Oak Harbor High School, said. “Being there was my biggest accomplishment.”

She had the chance to interact with members of the USA shooting team as well as meet Olympians. Victoria said she was coached by Lucas Kozeniesky, who won silver in 2020 and she met Ginny Thrasher, who won gold in 2016.

Zarate placed 134th out of 178 shooters in air rifle, Zarate placed 171st out of 178 shooters, while O’Hara placed 118th out of 152 shooters. In the air rifle, Zarate placed 58th out of 89 shooters, coach Victor Zarate said.

“It’s obviously a very professional environment,” Victor Zarate said. “It’s good to be in that type of environment because we need to see where we need to be.”

Victoria said she set personal records in the small-bore rifle event. She competed for five days starting at 8 a.m. and finishing at 6 p.m. every day.

The shooters are members of the Sabertooth Shooting Squad. Four shooters qualified for the Junior Olympics. O’Hara was a late qualifier and a third girl, Charlotte Hull-Walton, couldn’t make the trip, Victor Zarate said.

Now that she is a junior, Victoria said she can talk to coaches about the possibility of playing in college. She met with coaches from Ole Miss, Georgia Southern and Kentucky.

Her next step is to qualify for the Junior Olympics and earn a scholarship for college.

Oak Harbor shooter Victoria Zarate competed in the Junior Olympics that took place April 1 through 3 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by Victor Zarate)