Kovalow, a junior at Central High School, completed in the scholastic prone position event. During the individual event Kovalow fired an outstanding score of 564 out of 600 to take third place and in position for a bronze metal. The top six shooters move on to the 10-shot final where each shot is announced to the audience. The final is a pressure-packed event and it's not uncommon for a shooter to lose focus; but not Kovalow who shot an impressive 96.7/109 in the final to fend off any challenge to his bronze medal.
At one point Kovalow hit four bulls-eyes in a row that resulted in a loud cheer from the audience. He also finished in fourth place in the team event. Kovalow accomplished the rare feat at the games of a first time participant winning a medal.
Joseph Fitzgibbon is no stranger to the games competing for his sixth time. Fitzgibbon graduated Central High School in 1999 and now shoots for Xavier University where he is entering his senior year. Fitzgibbon has helped lead the team to the NCAA championships where they have finished in the top four in the country for the past three years.
In the process, Fitzgibbon has earned All-American honors. In the team three-position event, Fitzgibbon was paired with Matt Hellman of New Hyde Park to win their third consecutive gold medal in this event. Fitzgibbon and Hellman, once again paired together for the team air rifle event, won another gold, their third consecutive gold for the air event as well. Fitzgibbon and Hellman dominated the team events since the 2000 Games.
As an individual competitor, Fitzgibbon took home a silver medal in the three-position event. In the individual air rifle match Fitzgibbon shot an excellent score of 577/600 to be in first place by a wide margin going into the final. In the final Fitzgibbon fired a 100.1/109 to win the gold. This brought Fitzgibbon's medal count to four, three golds and a silver. It is the third consecutive year that Fitzgibbon has won a medal in every event that he competed in, another rare accomplishment.
Success at the Empire State Games is nothing new to Valley Stream shooters. Out of the 11 rifle records at the Games, Valley Stream shooters hold six. Through the high school and the PAL teams Valley Stream has a built a nationally recognized program that has developed some of the best student-athletes. They have gone on to receive All-County honors, receive college scholarships, become All-Americans and shoot in matches throughout the world. Thrine Kane, a member of the PAL team, reached the pinnacle of the sport by competing in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The PAL season starts in mid-September and the high school season starts later in the fall; anyone interested in joining can stop by the range in the basement of Memorial Junior High School Mondays or Wednesdays at 7 p.m. The team is coached by Dan Pempel and Dennis Jordan.
