Junior Jacob Hochhausler doesn’t pass, tackle, dribble, rally, spike, sprint or score. But he currently holds the highest national ranking in a U.S. Olympic sport: Shooting. Though little known, shooting is the fourth most participated sport in the world. There are several subcategories of competition, but Hochhausler competes most often in international trap and skeet. In early March, Hochhausler shot in the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) South East National Championships in international trap and skeet events and placed first in both.

“I’ve always shot guns from a young age… the [shotgun range] coach told me to join the local club team. That started my career,” Hochhausler who only began to train competitively in the sport in 2014, said.

As of March 30, Hochhausler was listed as sixth in the country on usashooting.org, maintaining a perfect 1.0000 record along with the five athletes listed as first through fifth.

“For my national ranking, we are all tied for first, but the top three ranked are Olympians and are multiple time World Cup champions.”

“At the bigger tournaments, there are past Olympians and world champions.” Just recently, he has competed in tournaments at the University of Alabama, Jacksonville University, and Florida State University.

Olympic shooting is unique in that all age groups can easily contend against each other; Hochhausler often competes well above his traditional age division.

Travel is a large part of the culture of Shooting as a sport, and because of the level he has advanced to in such a short period, Hochhausler trains in Southern Georgia and spends very little free time actually in Tampa. “It’s frustrating having to drive all the way to Hartsfield every weekend to shoot,” Hochhausler said. The training center is about four hours and forty five minutes from South Tampa, a considerable trek.