U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Sandra Uptagrafft with the 98th Training Division (Initial Entry Training) claimed the Silver Medal in Women's 25m Sport Pistol at USA Shooting's Smallbore Olympic Trials - Part 1 in Fort Benning, Georgia on October 2, 2019.

To earn this Silver Medal, the Phoenix City, Alabama resident had to compete in two days of relays and a Final. After the two Qualification Relays, Uptagrafft made the Finals in second place, behind Alexis Lagan, with a score of 1148.

In the Final, she placed second behind Lagan and earned another 7 points towards her overall Trials score of 1155. This Part 1 score will be added to the Olympic Trials - Part 2 to determine who will make up Team USA for the upcoming Smallbore events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

So the make up of Team USA is still undecided. However, earning the Silver Medal in the Part 1 Trials makes this Army Reserve Soldier feel some comfort. “I definitely feel good about the position that I am in going into Part 2.”

The pressure of making an Olympic Team is not a new feeling to Uptagrafft. She competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in both 10m Air Pistol and 25m Sport Pistol, placing 28th in each event.

And in 2016, she missed making Team USA by one point, which was especially heart-wrenching after earning an Olympic Quota in Sport Pistol for the United States, which she also earned this year when she won the Gold Medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Like the previous Games though, this 2012 Olympian is vying for a spot on Team USA in two events: 10m Air Pistol and 25m Sport Pistol.

Air Pistol Olympic Trials - Part 1 and Part 2 will be held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in December and February, respectively.

Part 2 of the Sport Pistol Olympic Trials will be in March, at Fort Benning, Georgia. So for the next few months, this Army Reserve Soldier will be focused on training every moment she can.