Konrad Powers Wins 2011 President’s Rifle Trophy Match and Tyler Rico Wins Junior President’s Trophy

CAMP PERRY, OHIO – Civilian shooter Konrad Powers, 41, of Carol Stream, Illinois won the storm-shortened 2011 President’s Rifle Trophy Match here Monday, 1 August, with an aggregate score of 295-8X out of 300 points possible, topping SSG Ty Cooper, 26, U.S. Army and SGT Christopher Atkins, 24, U.S. Army Reserve, who placed second and third, respectively.

Konrad Powers, of Carol Stream, Illinois, won the 2011 President’s Rifle Trophy Match here Monday, 1 August, with an aggregate score of 295-8X out of 300 points possible.

Due to afternoon thunderstorms that halted the competition and chased shooters from the range, there was insufficient time to fire the Top 20 Shoot-Off once firing resumed. Since its addition to the format in 2007, the shoot-off has become an exciting spectator-friendly conclusion to the prestigious individual match, which pits a 10-shot shoot-off among the top 20 President’s Rifle qualifiers. The value of the 10 shots is added to the competitors’ totals and determines the outcome of the match.

Weather once again played a factor at Camp Perry during the President’s Rifle Trophy Match. The competition was halted and delayed for two hours due to thunderstorms. The President’s Shoot-Off was cancelled as a result but all qualification firing was completed.

“We are disappointed that we couldn’t conduct the shoot-off this year, but sometimes we’re at the mercy of the weather and today the lightning prevailed,” said Christie Sewell, CMP North General Manager.

“Our first priority was to get the day’s qualification shooting completed in a safe manner and fortunately the skies cleared and all 1,251 shooters in six relays had the opportunity to fire the primary course,” she said.

Powers fired a 98-3X in off-hand shooting at 200 yards, 99-3X in rapid-fire prone at 300 yards and 98-2X in prone slow-fire at 600 yards with his service rifle. Last year Powers finished 23rd, just missing the top 20 cut for the shoot-off with an aggregate score of 293-7X. In 2009 Powers made the top 20 field with a qualification score of 295-9X and finished 12th with qualification plus final aggregate of 382-10X.

Competitors checked the results bulletins throughout the day as 1,251 shooters in six relays toed the firing line in the three-position match fired at 200, 300 and 600 yards.

Cooper, a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, fired an offhand of 98-2X, a 97-2X in rapid prone and 99-4X in slow prone. He placed 14th in the 2009 President’s Match and ninth last year.

Atkins, of Brunswick, Georgia, fired a 96-0X, 99-5X and 98-4X, in offhand, rapid prone and slow prone, respectively. He finished in the 88th spot in 2010 and 53rd in 2009.

In junior shooting, Tyler Rico, 17, of Tucson, Arizona placed first with an aggregate score of 288-8X in an X-count tiebreaker over James London, 17, of Statesville, North Carolina who finished with a 288-4X. Rico’s score also placed him 38th overall in the match. He fired scores of 95-2X, 99-5X, 94-1X in offhand, rapid prone and slow prone, respectively.

Duane Rubendall, 67, of Sycamore, Illinois, gauges the wind as shooting resumed in the afternoon following violent thunderstorms during the President’s Match.

London fired 94-0X, 96-1X and 98-3X and finished 47th overall. Sagen Maddalena, 17, of Groveland, California placed third with an aggregate score of 287-5X. Her split scores were 94-0X, 96-2X and 97-3X and she placed 57th overall. Maddalena was also the fourth-ranked woman overall in the match.

Jessica Noon, 21, of Lockport, New York was the high women’s scorer in the event, firing a 289-11X. Noon was followed by 1LT Julie Coggshall, 25, U.S. Army (289-7X) and Sara Rozanski, 33, of Toledo, Ohio (289-5X).

NRA referee Earl Lebetrau and R. Lee Ermey share a laugh during a break in firing at the President’s Match.

George Morgan, 60, of Portage, Pennsylvania was the high senior in the match with an aggregate score of 293-7X. Morgan, a retired National Guard shooter, was fifth overall this year and third overall in 2010.

Following Morgan in the senior category, Michael Miller, 64, of Downey, California placed second with an aggregate of 286-6X and Larry Remsnyder, 63, of Sterling Heights, Michigan who fired a total score of 283-5X.

First fired in 1878, the President’s Rifle Match, a National Trophy Rifle Match, was incorporated into the National Match program after the Nationals were established in 1903. The President’s Rifle and Pistol Matches have become especially prestigious because the match winners traditionally receive letters of congratulations from the President of the United States of America.

David Waters, 39, of Glenbrook, New South Wales, Australia, joined the ranks of the President’s Hundred at the 2011 match. Shooters finishing in places one to 100 receive special recognition for their accomplishments. Waters placed 51st.

Shooters who place 100th or better in the match are given special recognition as members of the President’s Hundred, a signification that is prized both in civilian and military circles as a significant badge of marksmanship achievement.

For complete results of the President’s Rifle Trophy Match, log onto http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=6544. To view photographs from the event, log onto our photo Web site at http://cmp1.zenfolio.com. 

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