Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski's trip to the London Olympics just got twice as busy. (USA Shooting photo)
A quick tour around the Internet’s military-themed sports news, from the shooting range to the MMA cage to West Point Build-A-Bears:
Szarenski’s second qualification. Army Sgt. 1st Class Daryl Szarenski will shoot in two events at the London Olympics this summer after winning the 50-meter free pistol qualifier over the weekend at Fort Benning, Ga. Szarenski, heading to his fourth Olympics, beat his closest competitor, Nick Mowrer, by almost a dozen points, according to the USA Shooting results release, but Mowrer can’t be too upset — because Szarenski already earned his trip to London, Mowrer will use the Team USA quota and compete alongside his training partner. In the release, Szarenski credited Mowrer’s impressive practice scores as key motivators.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson took sixth in the qualifier. More shooting is underway at Benning to fill out the rest of Team USA’s rifle and pistol berths; After Action had a pre-event roundup here.
One season ends … Army baseball fans saw a team-record win total, but the Black Knights’ regular-season success didn’t translate to a long run in the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma ended Army’s season Sunday with a 2-1 extra-inning win in regional play at Charlottesville, Va. It was the first extra-inning loss of the year for Army (41-15).
… another begins (soon). Want to attend an Army football home game this year but can’t decide when to make the trip to West Point? Here’s some help: Army released its promotions schedule Monday, featuring a variety of ticket discounts, ceremonies and other fan-friendly activities. Highlights: Homecoming’s set for Oct. 13 against Kent State; first-responders can get discount tickets for the home opener Sept. 15 against Southern Illinois; active-duty troops and veterans can get $15 tickets for the home finale Nov. 17 against Temple; and if you’re bringing the kids, consider Oct. 27 against Ball State, which will feature Scout Day events (including discounted tickets) and Build-A-Bear souvenirs for early arriving fans.
“Robo” steps up. Former Marine Chad “Robo” Robichaux will fight for the Legacy Fighting Championship flyweight title next month, stepping in for the injured Steve Garcia against Will Campuzano to main-event a July 13 card in Houston. We hope to have more about “Robo” (14-2) in the coming weeks, but for now, here’s what you can find other places: A piece on his 2011 retirement from the ring to dedicate his time to a retreat designed to help those with post-traumatic stress disorder; another article here (ignore the part about him being called a “soldier”) on his dedication to fighting PTSD and his own struggles with life after deployment; and an interview before his comeback fight with Legacy on May 11 — a 51-second destruction of former UFC fighter Joseph Sandoval.
