CAMP PERRY, OHIO – What was planned to be a match within a match, the 2008 President’s 100 Rifle Match on Monday, 28 July became even more interesting half way through the final stage.

The pressure-filled event gave finalists, fellow competitors, match organizers and spectators each something to talk about for years to come.

US Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Norman Anderson was the last shooter standing after a grueling Camp Perry donnybrook on the shores of Lake Erie. And yes, even the lake itself played a critical role in the match.

After 1,168 President’s 100 service rifle competitors fired their final shots in a bid to reach the top 100 places, the stakes grew even higher as the top 20 newly-crowned President’s 100 shooters were summoned for a 10-round, 600-yard slow fire prone shoot-off match to determine the very best of the finalists on Rodriguez Range. The cut-off score for the President’s 100 was 285-7X. The cut-off for the top 20 was 291-8X.

One of the top 20 competitors withdrew from the match just prior to the shoot-off, leaving a field of 19 to compete for the trophy.

Army marksman Sergeant First Class Grant Singley entered the shoot-off with a one-point lead over Anderson with a preliminary round total of 298-15X to Anderson’s 297-10X. Civilian Paul Kerr of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the eventual runner-up, held the 13th spot entering the final with a 293-5X.

Singley got off to a rocky start in the final, losing a seven at 12:30 with his first shot as hard-charging Kerr fired a nearly clean 99-3X. Anderson eventually fended off Kerr and Singley with a very respectable 96-3X on his way to the overall President’s 100 championship.

But already tense final didn’t proceed without added drama as a boat entered the Lake Erie impact area, causing an immediate range cease-fire following the first five shots. After a 12-minute delay, shooters were given a new three-minute prep time to regroup and focus on their five remaining shots.

Anderson and Kerr continued to break center mass shots while Singley let his seventh shot stray out of the black to seal his fate. Kerr had too much ground to make up to overtake Anderson, allowing the Tomah, Wisconsin resident to win the President’s Rifle Trophy for the second time. SFC Norman Anderson's winning score of 393-10X is a new National Matches record.

"I am thrilled, honestly thrilled,” Anderson said immediately following the match. “I don’t have any words for it,” he added.

“It was my first time firing in the shoot-off format and my second time winning the President’s, but I don’t know if you can say you enjoy this one more than the first. Certainly they are both thrilling.”

When asked how he handled the interruption in firing, Anderson said he just kept making well-aimed shots.

“I really wanted to forego that three-minute prep time,” he joked. “My approach to every shot was to go back to my no-wind zero and make an assessment – she gave the command to cease fire - I didn’t make any adjustments, I just wanted to get back to firing.”

When asked where his mental train of thought took him during the delay, Anderson replied enthusiastically, “I wondered how big a boat, what kind of boat and how long was it going to take to get it out of there!”

The High Junior in the President’s Match was Jacob Whetham who fired a 390-12X. Whetham was the only junior firing in the President’s Final, firing an impressive 97-6X. Whetham finished eighth Overall out of 1168 competitors.

For a complete description of the President’s 100 Match course of fire, go to http://www.odcmp.com/NM/rifle.htm.

For a complete list of President’s 100 place finishers and scores, go to http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=3426.

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