Shania Harrison-Lee continues to set national records in shooting. Photo supplied.Shania Harrison-Lee is charging towards the Commonwealth Games.

It appears that Mid Canterbury’s own national champion is just getting ever-better, as she reaches the business end of the shooting season in record-breaking form.

Last weekend she shot a personal best 624.1 in the Mana Championship 50m Prone in Wellington.

It followed a win in the A Grade of the Pauatahanui Championship 50m Prone event on the Saturday.

Her latest points haul means she now holds all four national records in both junior women’s and women’s categories, eclipsing her own record of 597 set at the 2020 TSNZ Outdoor National Championships in Tokoroa last year.

The Mana championships are one of seven 50m TSNZ designated matches which count for selection for this year’s tentatively scheduled Oceania Grand Prix in Brisbane, which has ramifications for next year’s Commonwealth Games, to be held in Birmingham.

Harrison-Lee’s display also edged New Zealand rifle shooting veteran and olympian Ryan Taylor by less than a point at the Trentham event.

The two shooters are setting the pace nationally, with Taylor edging the Ashburton teen in the Manawatu 50m Open event last month – another designated event which holds plenty of weight on the road to higher honours.

Next on the agenda is the TSNZ Outdoor National Championships which begins on Monday in Christchurch.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 19 February 2021