MHS Student Chases Her NCAA and Olympic Dreams

Elisa Boozer had grown tired of practicing martial arts alongside her father. Softball couldn't hold her interest either, but her family always had a rule that the kids would choose a sport to supplement their academic endeavors.

"She just wasn't finding her thing," Brandon Boozer said of his then 11-year-old daughter.

Fortunately for Elisa, she found her specialty in one of her grandfather's favorite hobbies - target shooting. That interest absolutely stuck through junior high and high school; otherwise, she would not be competing at the National Junior Olympics this week as a junior from Moore High School!

In previous interviews with Ed Godfrey of The Oklahoman and Rob Morris with Moore Monthly, Elisa's coach Charles Meloy, a Navy veteran and former competitive pistol shooter has said of Elisa, "I saw that little Olympic spark that so few have, so we gently fanned that spark over the years, and she has certainly excelled.”

It didn’t take Meloy long to recognize that the youngster had the rare qualities that set her apart from the crowd.

"The technique you can learn very quickly," Meloy said. "It is the mental side of it that one has to master. We get lots of kids that come through and start and work for a little while and then give it up because an Olympic sport is very demanding."

During the COVID-19 shutdown, most of Meloy's shooting lessons for Elisa were held in her grandfather's workshop, which was quickly converted into an indoor shooting range so she could continue to train.

"To her, it's almost like chess or something," her dad said. "She has this drive and determination that she has to hit the center of the target. There is no other option. She has to get to a 10. Anything less than a 10 is unacceptable."

"You go through about a thousand kids and find that one that has that real Olympic spark." - Charles Meloy

The Olympic stage is a primary goal for Elisa. She understandably has no plans to slow down and has her sights on a scholarship for NCAA competition air rifle. Although there is a strong gun culture in Oklahoma, no colleges in the state sponsor air rifle teams. 

Elisa continues to gain honors as part of an Oklahoma team and also for her individual accomplishments, representing our state on a national and international stage:

• 9-time State Champion
• 5-time Junior Olympic Qualifier
• Silver medalist at the Leppa Grand Prix in Finland
• Top 3 ranked 11th grade female in the US
• Member of OK Sharpshooters, a top 10 ranked team in US
• Future NCAA athlete
• Participant in our MPS Pre-Olympic Activity Program (a model program for schools statewide)