Anchorage Daily News

With the Olympics looming three months away, trapshooter Corey Cogdell of Eagle River will get another taste today of the elite international competition she'll face in Beijing.

Cogdell and about 230 other shotgun shooters from 37 nations are at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup USA in Kerrville, Texas.

The event began last Saturday at the Hill Country Shooting Sports Center and concludes Sunday. Today's event is women's trap.

Cogdell is one of 23 American shooters competing for a World Cup title. Another 35 U.S. competitors are in the event but not eligible to win.

"We are very excited to be hosting the World Cup," Robert Mitchell, executive director of USA Shooting, said on the organization's Web site. "Having a World Cup here in the U.S. gives many of our shooters the opportunity to participate in a competition they wouldn't normally get to compete in. It is also a great way to prepare our Olympic team members for the upcoming Summer Games."

Cogdell is a 21-year-old who developed her talents with the shotgun as a child while hunting moose with her dad and practicing with her mom in Chickaloon. In March, she won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the same facility in Texas, earning the lone American spot in women's trapshooting at the Summer Games.

Last month the ISSF held a World Cup event at the Olympic shooting facility in Beijing, and Cogdell finished 12th out of 53 women. She narrowly missed out on the finals -- Cogdell scored 66; 68 was the cutoff for the final round.

Cogdell has had success on the international stage before, winning a bronze medal at a World Cup event in Korea and another bronze at the Pan American Games last year.

According to the U.S. Olympic Committee Web site, Cogdell will become the ninth Alaskan to compete in the Summer Olympics.

Alaska Summer Olympians

Carlos Boozer -- 2004, basketball (bronze)

Stacey Borgman -- 2004, rowing

Chris Clark -- 2000, marathon

Donald Clary Jr. -- 1984, 5,000 meters

Peter Lash Jr. -- 1984, 1988, team handball

Tela O'Donnell -- 2004, wrestling

Diana Olson -- 1992, rowing

Kristen Thorsness -- 1984, rowing (gold)

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