Eli Christman continues to score high in national shotgun competition. The 2017 Soddy-Daisy High School graduate, now a junior at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee, earned a bronze medal in the international skeet men's open division at the 2019 USA Shooting National Championships at Colorado Springs. With his third-place finish came a spot on the United States men's open team after two years on the junior national squad. Christman again is qualified to live next year at the Olympic Training Center, where he is spending this summer. He hit 43 out of 50 targets in the six-man finals. His next major competition is the U.S. Olympic Trials in Kerrville, Texas, in September.
Running
» Multidistance standout Christian Thompson of Ooltewah, who has finished in the top 20 of the Boston Marathon, led the 126 finishers Thursday in the Signal Mountain Firecracker Mile. Thompson's time was 4 minutes, 46 seconds - 16 seconds faster than 19-year-old runner-up Jonah Bird. Riley Young, Andy Highlander and Jarrod Holmes completed the top five in 5:08, 5:18 and 5:35. Lauren Mullins of Signal Mountain was the first female finisher and 12th overall in 6:08, and Emily Bell was the second woman in 6:11. The husband-wife duo of Mark Malecky (seventh overall) and Stacey Maleckey were the masters winners. Thomas Carter and Jennifer Goodrich were the grand masters winners; Earl Kelle, 72, and Ann Eischeid took the senior grand masters titles.