4th Annual Camp Perry Open

Written By Steve Cooper, CMP Writer

CAMP PERRY, OHIO - In a dramatic final day of the Camp Perry Open, a shoot-off added drama to a Day 2 60-shot match featuring two international rifle greats and three of the sport's top women who were right on their heels.

It was all part of the fourth annual event which featured talented adult and junior air pistol and both precision and sporter air rifle shooters from across the nation. This year's event was a sell-out, with waiting lists for competition and a junior clinic. The event was held over a three-day weekend at the Civilian Marksmanship Program's Competitions Center near Port Clinton.

SPC Matt Rawlings, 25, of the US Army Marksmanship Unit and Patrik Sartz, 24, a senior on the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team closed the day in dramatic fashion when they went toe-to-toe, deadlocked at 702.1 after the second day final in the 60-shot standing match.

Sartz, of Stora Sundby, Sweden, edged Rawlings, an Alaska Fairbanks rifle team alumnus after firing a near-perfect 599 - a new Swedish national record. His only non-10 was a 9.9 on his 25th shot, missing a 10 by the closest of margins. Sartz was the lone shooter on shot 60 and he held much longer than normal before delivering the record-setting shot, which forced the shoot-off.

Sartz' deep 10 in the shoot-off gave him the win but Rawlings' 597 on Day 2 following a solid Day 1 595, plus finals, put him over the top as high aggregate shooter with a 1399.3 to Sartz' 1396.9.

Emily Caruso, 32, of Fairfield, Connecticut, Amy Sowash, 25, of Richmond, Kentucky, and Jamie Beyerle, 25, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, also an UAF alumnus, were tied with 595 entering the final on Day 2. Caruso took third overall behind Sartz and Rawlings with a final of 103.9 to Sowash's 103.5 and Beyerle's 103.3. But Sowash prevailed as the women's high aggregate shooter for both days with a 1394.9 with Caruso next at 1394.5 and Beyerle at 1394.1.

Emily Holsopple, 17, of Wilcox, Pennsylvania, was the high junior finisher with an aggregate of 1383.5. Dustin Chesebro, 19, of Laramie, Wyoming, placed second with an aggregate of 1377.8 and Amanda Furrer, 19, of Spokane, Washington, took third with a two-day total of 1377.1.

The exciting 60-shot matches capped a Martin Luther King weekend full of outstanding performances from top individual juniors and adults including those from several US prep and club teams, the US National Development Team and USAMU rifle and pistol teams.

In all, nine precision rifle teams, 15 sporter teams and 145 individuals participated in the 3x20 Air Rifle Match, which included two relays on Friday and Saturday. A total of 119 shooters participated in the 60-shot precision events. Supporters who could not make the trip were able to track their shooters shot-by-shot with CMP’s Competition Tracker scoring system. CT allowed viewers on the Web to click on any competitor's name and view each shot exactly as it was displayed on that shooter’s monitor on the range. In addition, images of the competitors' shots in 10-shot strings were available for viewing from the results page. In the three-position air rifle event on Friday evening and Saturday morning, Catherine Green, 17, of Coventry, Rhode Island, won the precision class with a 686 after the final, topping Camille Lathbury, 15, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Jimmie Cooper, 18, of Columbus, Georgia. Lathbury's 98.5 in the final gave her the edge over Cooper's 96.2 for second place. Both entered the final with 585.

In the Sporter class Yvonne Swiontek, 17, of Beach Park, Illinois, entered the final with a 556 and finished with a 651.1 to take first place. Christian Klinkhammer, 18, of Rockford, Illinois, placed second with a 629.5 and Eben Jenness, 18, of Hudson, Ohio, placed third with a 623.4.

In 3x20 team competition, sporter class, the four-member team of Yvonne Swiontek, Renz Ibarra, Ariel Morales and Alyssa Siegfried of Zion Benton High School, Illinois, placed first with an aggregate team score of 2135. In precision class, Mass Rifle Olympians (Massachusetts Junior Rifle Team) took top honors with an aggregate score of 2294. The team is comprised of Olivia and Alexis Nardone, Rena Goodwin and Kyle Freeley.

On Saturday evening the USAMU conducted a hands-on junior rifle clinic on the firing line in the CMP Competitions Center following a pizza party. Members of the USAMU and USA Shooting rifle teams coached approximately 50 shooters on fundamentals, training and match strategy. Following the instructional period, all participants fired a handicapped 20-shot standing match.

In the 60-shot pistol competition, Jason Turner, 34, of Rochester, New York, was the overall high aggregate winner with 1343.2, narrowly defeating Brian Beaman who finished second with a 1342.6. Teresa Meyer, 24, of Dearborn, Michigan, finished third with an aggregate total of 1339.9.

High junior pistol competitor was Will Brown, 18, of Twin Falls, Idaho, with an aggregate score of 1331.5. Hannah Lewis, 17, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, fired an aggregate of 1295.4 to finish second in the junior division and Sara Yahrmatter, 18, of East Lansing, Michigan, placed third with a total of 1190.3.

As a bonus, the CMP conducted a Super Final event at the conclusion of the matches which pitted the top 32 competitors from the 60-shot match, divided between the top 16 men and women. The event was an elimination match held in rounds until there was only one shooter left standing. The winners won prize money ranging from $200 to $50.

The first round was a 10-shot final to determine the top eight men and women from the original field of 32 competitors. In the second round, men and women were bracketed against each other for head-to-head competition.

In the head-to head match-ups, competitors fired one shot, and the highest score between the two paired competitors was awarded one point. This was repeated until one of the two shooters earned five total points, with the winner advancing to the next round. The rounds continued until there was only one shooter left standing.

The breakdown for the Super Final winners is as follows: Pistol first place Brian Beaman $200; second place Tyler Imig $150; third and fourth place Will Brown and Teresa Meyer $87.50; fifth through eighth place Arianna Chao, Nickolaus Mower, Anthony Lutz and Jason Turner $50.

Super Final rifle winners were first place Ethel Ann Alves $200; second place Emily Caruso $150; third and fourth place Dustin Chesebro and Patrik Sartz $87.50; fifth through eighth place Nick Novello, David Sprecher, Matt Rawlings, and Amanda Furrer $50.

For complete results from the 2010 Camp Perry Open go to http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=5071.  Photos can be viewed at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos/10/CPO/index.htm. 

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