You might call Kenzie Kring an accidental air-rifle star. It wasn’t as though she’s been wanting to compete in air-rifle tournaments all her life. In a way, you can say that air rifles actually found her.

Kenzie’s air-rifle journey started with a pragmatic introduction into the sport. Nearly four years ago, when she was researching college applications, she felt that a scholarship was somehow achievable, but wasn’t quite sure how until she noticed something particular on the applications. 

“At the bottom of every page of the applications was someone shooting an air rifle,” she recalled. “So I went to the local shooting club and picked up an air rifle. It felt like a natural for me.”

Kenzie Krieg lining up for a shot with her air rifle.

The prospect of receiving a scholarship is based on her impressive air-rifle score cards collected under the development program of USA Shooting – a 501c3 non-profit corporation was chartered by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the Olympic Shooting Sports in April 1995. Kenzie, like other Olympic hopefuls in the shooting sports, now practices at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado along with bona fide Olympian medalists. 

Kenzie Krieg celebrating a win.

Kenzie won Gold at the 2024 Civilian Marksmanship Program National Championship in the division of under 18 Women’s Air Rifle, plus another Gold for the Junior Team Air Rifle. She took Silver in the Women’s Air Rifle Overall Category in the 2024 USA Shooting National Championships. At the 2024 USA Shooting Junior National Champion, in the Women’s Air Rifle division, she triumphed with both Overall Silver and Gold for Under 21. It was there she also scored a new national record score in the division of Under 18.

“It takes a lot of focus,” she said. 

“Air-rifle shooting is an NCAA sport, and the colleges have a rifle team and are recruiting for that,” said her father, Randy, referring to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. “She has a lot of colleges recruiting her, but she’s narrowing down the list.” 

Kenzie Krieg’s air rifle of choice is the German-made Werkeau 900.

The clubs around her hometown of Denver were largely managed by volunteers – moms and dads committed to improving kids’ lives through the shooting sports. Before long, though, Kenzie “came to love air rifles.” Her parents installed a Megalink Electronic Scoring System in the basement for practice. The Megalink target-detection system is based on sound-wave measurement, with the results presented on a monitor. Since her sophomore year in high school, she’s been taking classes remotely for more flexibility in her training, and pulling straight As in school.

Lucas Kozeniesky

As Kenzie tells it, her rising scores drew the attention of two-time Olympian, Lucas Kozeniesky who started the shooting training organization, Team Winning Solutions in Colorado Springs. His company includes Olympians and NCAA athletes who develop talent for air-rifle competitions. For the past two years, Kenzie been training with Lucas with the intent of competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics. So far in 2024, she’s traveled to Finland and Germany for competitions, and she’ll travel to Lima, Peru for the 2024 ISSF Junior World Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun Championship that takes place from September 26 to October 7. Kenzie is now nationally ranked.

“Lucas and I have set up a rigorous training program for the next four years,” she said. 

During the summer she trains four-to-five hours per day, dropping to a minimum two-to-three once she starts college.

Kenzie believes that competitive air-rifle shooting has “made me a very focused person. It helped me focus more on my schoolwork and other things in life, and it helped me a lot with time management, like trying to make plans around matches and staying in touch with friends outside of shooting.”

Reflecting on her ascent in the air-rifle arena, Kenzie said “This sport has set me up for path in life. I didn’t know a sport could do that.”

Irwin Greenstein is the publisher of Young Awesome Hunter and Shotgun Life (www.shotgunlife.com).

Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

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