MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Georgia Southern sophomore Erin Ballard won the West Virginia State Junior Olympics for air rifle and smallbore on the campus of West Virginia University this past weekend. The Reedsville, West Virginia, native placed first in women's smallbore with a score of 561(15x) and first in women's air rifle with a score of 580 (31x).

Junior shooters can participate in state qualifier competitions sanctioned by USA Shooting for the chance to receive an invitation to shoot at the National Junior Olympic Championships hosted by USA Shooting in the spring. Athletes from across the state of West Virginia competed for the title of state champion, as well as an invitation to the national match via an automatic qualifying score.

Due to recent category changes, the junior categories are now titled U21 (previously J1), U18 (previously J2), and U15 (previously J3). These categories are based on a junior's age on the first day of match competition. Since age categories may change between the State JO to the National JO Championship, USA Shooting issued one cover-all automatic score for each event, which are: air rifle 580 and smallbore rifle 575. Athletes who win their state championship are also granted an automatic invitation to Nationals. National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships will take place in Hillsdale, Michigan, May 11-15, 2022.

This is the second time Ballard has won the state title in both disciplines as she did so in 2019. She won the silver medals in both disciplines in both 2017 and 2018. The event was not held last year due to COVID-19.

Ballard and the 19th-ranked Eagles return to collegiate action on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022 when they host 18th-ranked The Citadel co-ed in a key SoCon match at the Shooting Sports Education Center. Action begins at 9 a.m., and admission is free.