Air Rifle and Pistol Juniors Collide at 2014 Camp Perry Open

By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer/Editor

CAMP PERRY, Ohio – The doors to the CMP North Marksmanship Center opened January 17-19 to a crowd that braved the snow and sub-zero temperatures to witness one of the most exciting CMP competitions of the season. Competitors and spectators traveled from around the country to take part in the dramatic finals the match promises and to observe the one-of-a-kind Super Final that can only be seen at the Camp Perry Open.

Air rifle and air pistol shooters alike made the trek through the wintery weather to participate in the 2014 Camp Perry Open at the CMP North Competition Center January 17-19.

The match began on Friday with the Junior Air Rifle 3x20 competition. Two relays of over 140 junior competitors fired in the National Standard Three-Position event, with the top eight shooters in both the sporter and precision classes qualifying for each relay’s finals. Top individuals in each division earned CMP medals and Visa Gift Cards worth $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third.

Overall, Sarah Osborn, 14, of Patriot Shooting Club, led the precision class with her qualifying score of 594-45x, followed by MacKenzie Martin, 16, of the Taunton Marksmanship Unit, with 592-42x, and Ian Foos, 16, of Black Swamp Jr. Rifle in Ohio, who fired a 590-39x.

The girls led the precision class during the Junior 3x20 event, as Sarah Obsorn fired a 594-45x for the gold. MacKenzie Martin earned the silver medal, while Amanda Ruffner landed in third for the bronze.

Osborn fired a 104.3 in her relay’s finals, earning her the gold medal and an aggregate score of 698.3. Martin held on to the second position to earn the silver, while Amanda Ruffner, 15, of Alexandria Jr. Rifle Team in Pennsylvania, snuck in one-tenth of a point above Foos to earn the bronze, with her score of 690.9.

Patriot Shooting Club of Virginia led the overall team category with a combined score of 2337-151x. Team members are Sarah Osborn, Anika Corsi, Claire Zanti and Robert Hudson. Frazier Simplex Center Shots of Pennsylvania landed in second with a score of 2323-125x, while the Taunton Marksmanship Unit of Massachusetts followed in third with 2316-130x.

In the sporter division, Isaac Diaz, 17, of Flint Northwestern High School, Michigan, fired an aggregate score of 555-15x in the qualifying round to earn him the top seat going into the finals. Giovanni Gutierrez, 17, of East Aurora High School, Illinois, finished in second with 549-14x, as Kevin Hamilton, 18, of Zion Benton High School, Illinois, recorded a 546-17x for third.

Giovanni Gutierrez (left) and Kevin Hamilton (right) placed second and third in the Junior 3x20 sporter competition.

Once the finals concluded, Diaz remained on top to win the gold with an aggregate score of 645.4. Hamilton claimed the silver medal as he fired a finals score of 91.2 and combined score of 637.2 to jump ahead of Gutierrez, who landed in third place with a score of 636 for the bronze.

Isaac Diaz claimed the first place spot in the sporter division of the Junior 3x20 event, which took place a day before the 60 Shot Standing competition began.

Zion Benton Team #1 in Illinois came out victorious in the overall team competition, firing a combined score of 2155-509x. Team members are Kevin Hamilton, Zachary Dumyahn, Alec Dumyahn and Kayla Savage. Flint Northwestern NJROTC claimed the second place spot with a score of 2140-59x, as East Aurora Team #1 fired an aggregate score of 2100-48x for third.

The rest of the weekend brought a two-day 60 Shot Open Air Rifle and Pistol competition, divided off into three categories: Junior, Team and Overall. All shooters fired 60 record shots in accordance to USA Shooting rules.

Over 30 air pistol shooters, both junior and open competitors, fired at this year’s event. Pistol shooters from the United States Army Marksmanship Unit also competed.

Club shooters traveled from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Michigan, Wisconsin and other surrounding states. College NCAA competitors and members of the United States Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) and the USA Shooting team also participated in the match.

For the event, shooters fired a qualifying score during record fire to determine who entered the finals. Once the finals began, all scores were wiped clean – meaning, everyone began the final with a score of zero. Shooters who earned bronze, silver and gold medals were determined by their scores in the finals only – not a combined qualifying plus finals score. Top shooters of Day 1 and Day 2 were given Camp Perry Open medals and Visa Gift Cards.

Dempster Christenson (center) outshot CMP’s Mike Dickenson (left) and Olympian Jonathan Hall (right) to win first place overall in the Air Rifle competition.

In the overall competition, Dempster Christenson, 23, of USA Shooting, claimed the gold as he battled above the 150 competitors in the Open Championship. Michael Dickinson, 26, of the CMP, earned the silver, while fellow CMP employee Jonathan Hall, 25, earned the bronze.

Ian Foos was the overall junior shooter, earning the gold and his $100 Visa Gift Card, over Sarah Osborn and MacKenzie Martin, who earned silver and bronze, respectively.

Ian Foos was the overall junior shooter in the air rifle competition, followed by Sarah Osborn and MacKenzie Martin.

A three-man team event was also held concurrently with the individual 60 Shot Air Rifle match. Team members combined their two-day aggregate scores to determine the top competitors.

For the overall open team competition, Palmyra 10.9 earned first place, thanks to team members Ann Alves, William Dixon and Amanda Ruffner. Frazier Simplex #1, consisting of Ariana Grabowski, Nicholle Benedict and Cassidy Fairman, claimed second, while the Taunton Marksmanship Unit team landed in third. Team members were MacKenzie Martin, Brendan Whitaker and Tyler Lefebvre.

A sea of spectators poured into the range during the popular “Super Final” event. During the Super Final, music blasted over the sound system as those in the crowd banged chairs and blew on noisemakers in an attempt to distract shooters on the line. Despite their efforts, many of the talented shooters managed to stay on task. .

In the overall Open Pistol competition, SPC Greg Markowski, 40, of the USAMU, captured the gold, above silver-medalist Glenn Zimmerman, 17, of the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association, and fellow USAMU shooter SSG Patrick Franks, 35, who earned the bronze.

SPC Greg Markowski (center) of the Army Marksmanship Unit finished first overall in the Air Pistol competition, as junior Glenn Zimmerman  (left) and fellow USAMU shooter SSG Patrick Franks (right) trailed in second and third place, respectively.

Zimmerman also topped the Junior Air Pistol competition, beating out brothers Brett Tucker and Bryce Tucker, both of North Canton, Ohio, who earned the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Outside of the competition, some shooters also trekked across the snow from the CMP North Marksmanship Center to the CMP Armory for a shooting clinic, led by the USAMU.

USAMU members Hank Gray and Erin Lorenzen led a classroom clinic for junior shooters and parents on everything competitive shooting.

Formatted as a question-and-answer session, USAMU members Hank Gray and Erin Lorenzen touched on topics such as shot process, stretching and balance, equipment, breathing and relaxation, shooting in college and beyond, as well as how to remain calm during a high-pressure finals situation. Attendees were free to ask any questions they had for the experienced AMU shooters in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

“I think the clinic went really well,” said Gray. “It’s great to open it up to the floor with questions, and we had great participation with that.”

Many juniors and parents took mental and physical notes during the clinic, in the hopes of bettering themselves in competitions filled with talented shooters, like the Camp Perry Open.

For a complete list of results, visit http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=10583. Photos from the event can be found at http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.