Ava Downs, Olivia Krauss, and Joy Chen at competition
Courtesy | Ava Downs
At 7 years old, Ava Downs went to a shooting range with her dad and uncle to pull clays for them. A few weeks later, she began learning how to shoot. Now in her third year at Hillsdale and a star on the shotgun team, she has her eyes set on the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.
After five years of shooting at the range, Downs and her parents decided shooting competitively needed to be her next move. When they went in search of clubs, Downs said they found no shortage of options around town. Although her hometown of Waterford, Wisconsin, does not boast a large population, it does boast half a dozen gun clubs, according to Downs.
“It’s a really good spot to get into shooting,” Downs said. “In terms of shooting, it’s big.”
Starting early gave Downs the chance to hone her craft. It also gave her the chance to compete with her sister who started two or three years after her. They competed together until Downs left for college.
In high school, Downs and her squad had all their matches except nationals in Wisconsin, which brought them only as far east as Ohio. Travel distances changed when Downs made the 2023 Shooting Shotgun USA Junior National Team a couple days after she finished high school. That summer, she competed in Korea.
“It’s still probably my favorite place I’ve been, and the range was beautiful,” Downs said. “That team was great because they brought five women, five men for trap; five women, five men for skeet. And out of the 20 people they brought, five were either at Hillsdale College or about to be at Hillsdale.”
Junior Madeline Corbin was on that team. She competed against Downs in high school, so the two have known each other for most of their careers.
“Seeing her in other countries as we both compete, representing Hillsdale and USA, and then thinking back to when we were just shooting against each other in Wisconsin is so amazing,” Corbin said. “I am proud to have her as a teammate and friend and I know she is going to continue to do great things.”
Also among the USA junior national team members in 2023 was senior Jordan Sapp. Sapp travelled to Peru with Downs and Corbin in the fall of 2024. In the spring of 2025, Sapp and Downs returned to Peru and added Argentina to the itinerary for international competitions.
“Ava is incredibly supportive and always brings a positive mindset,” Sapp said. “Her presence, both on and off the field, has been a crucial asset to our team, helping all of us perform at our best and achieve the best results possible.”
But South America only marked the beginning of an adventurous summer for Downs. Hillsdale was her home base for training, but she competed all over the world. She travelled to Cyprus, Italy, and in late August, just before returning to Hillsdale, she won gold at the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay and there she received a bid that will allow her to compete for the Olympics.
Under the pressure of competition and often on the road, Downs said she takes time to meditate because it keeps her mind clear for competition.
“Each time zone is different, but I try to lean into the things that don’t change,” Downs said. “I always visualize the night before a competition. I envision a perfect round. I tell myself that there are going to be negatives and that I need to let them go. I try to let myself trust my training and lean into the nerves, because they’re not a bad thing and they’re not going away.”
Downs said she finds that she performs best with an even mind.
“When things go well, I try not to get too excited. When things go poorly, I trust myself not to panic,” she said. “Going slow helps, too.”
Downs said in a month she will head back to Europe to compete at the 2025 International Shooting Sport Federation World Championship Shooting in Greece. Downs also said she will compete at the 2027 Pan American games, which could send her to the Olympics.
“It’s not a guarantee, but if I do well at Pan Ams, I’ll get a bid for LA,” Downs said. “A bid doesn’t get me in automatically, team USA still gets to choose, but it’s a chance.”
Downs plans to train in Hillsdale until at least 2028 but knows the fun will not end there.
“Sometimes it’s hard to turn the competition off,” Downs said. “I don’t get to shoot just for fun a whole lot right now. But when I do, I’m on the range with my dad and my uncle. I don’t really plan to ever stop shooting.”
