Clay Target Nation

The official magazine of the National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association

Newark Open at Newark Rod and Gun Club

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The 2022 Newark Open at Newark (NY) Rod and Gun Club started out on Friday, July 29, with pretty decent conditions. Six squads of shooters took to the fields, and at the end of the day, Dess Ivanov and Craig Parsons posted the high scores. After a lengthy shoot-off (something less than 10 boxes) Parsons emerged with the title. Canada’s Dan Morris was third. Class winners were John Boone (A), Craig Halstead (B), Al Grundman (C) and Joanna Nichols, (D).

Saturday brought ideal temperatures but plenty of the “Great Lakes puffies” and more breeze than skeet shooters hope for. Even so, and with the aid of finely tuned machines by trap mechanic Pat Breen and Lawry New York orange (black rim targets),  great scores were recorded, including three 100s by Dan Morris, Steve Wood and Scott Janowski.

After the shoot-off dust settled, Dan Morris emerged as champion, Scott Janowski was runner-up and Steve Wood claimed third. Class winners Craig Halstead (A), Dave Sobiegray (B), Doug Goodman (C), Larry Clarke (D) and Joan Paddock (E).

The afternoon brought more of the same conditions until late afternoon, and again three perfect scores were posted. This time, Craig Parsons came out on top, Steve Wood was RU and Dess Ivanov made the podium in third place. Class winners were Dan Morris (AA), Dave Sobiegray (A), Cameron Baker (B), Joan Paddock (C) and Cheryl Henderson (D).

Due to the generous donation of members Cliff Patridge and Pat Breen, we had a 20- gauge B, C, D class handicap challenge, free of charge to all competitors. Newark’s own junior shooter Cam Baker won the event with a fine 98X100, and splitting second and third-place monies were Joan Paddock and Jim Reilly.

Capping off the evening was a dinner provided by the club and catered by Newark’s Nana’s Village Restaurant & Catering.

Sunday brought near-perfect conditions except for a few “puffies” in the middle of the day. 28-gauge was held in the morning and Steve Wood and Dess Ivanov had the two perfect scores, with Dess finishing as champ, Steve as runner-up, and Craig Parsons in third place. Winning the classes were Scott Janowski (A), Craig Halstead, (B) Cameron Baker (C) and Cheryl Henderson (D).

The .410 event brought 99s by Dess Ivanov and Craig Parsons, with Dess winning the championship, Craig runner-up and Dan Morris, third. Walt Aldrich (A), Jim Reilly, (B) Victor Stirpe (C) and John Greco (D)

HOA Champion was Dess Ivanov with an impressive 398X400. Runner-up was Steve Wood with 397X400, and third-place was Craig Parsons with 396X400. Class winners were Clay Tietjen (A),  Jim Reilly (B), Cam Baker (C), Joan Paddock (D). Ivanov was also HAA Champion, Wood was runner-up and Parsons, third.

The club would like to thank everyone that pitched in to make this happen, with a special thanks to the refs that did a great job pushing the buttons for us. We hope to see everyone again next year!

– Contributed by Craig Parsons

Harry Wright Open

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Alessandro Vitale, center, came just short of a clean sweep at the Harry Wright Open at Loch Raven Skeet and Trap Club in Maryland. Vitale was HOA Champion (399×400), HAA Champion (498×500), Doubles, 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and .410 bore champion. Gil Traore was 28-gauge champion. Mark Gay, left, was HOA runner-up and Sam Armstrong third.

 

4th Annual Harry Michelson Memorial at St. Joe Valley

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The 4th Annual Harry Michelson Memorial shoot was held July 15-17 at St. Joe Valley Conservation Club in St. Joe, Indiana. Harry was a beloved referee from Ohio that absolutely loved doing what he did and did it into his 90s before passing away. Because of his love of the sport, his family has generously donated added money to this event in his honor every year. This added money is not only awarded to the event winners and runner-up but spread out among the class winners and runner-up as well. In addition, this year they sponsored the free lunches Saturday and Sunday.

Thirty skeet shooters took to the fields Friday for doubles, and there was some weather to be dealt with. Bryan Rogers won the event with a solid 98, with Bruce Christian, runner-up, on his heels with a 97. Jack Krispin was third, scoring a 96; please pay attention to this name – it will be mentioned often. Class winners were Brent Edwards (AA), Patrick Fowler (A), James Neirzwick (B), Stan Gorgacz (C) and Folke Boman (D).

Saturday appeared to be another rainy day, but the weather held off and offered fantastic shooting conditions, with the scores reflecting it. Forty-five shooters entered the 12-gauge event, resulting in four 100s and five 99s. When the shoot-offs were complete, Jack Krispin was champ with Robert Lopez (all the way from Bulverde, Texas) taking runner-up. Jim Sikes was third, and class winners were previous World Champion Fred Tzschantz (AA), Jeff Pope (A), Jeff Roussey (B), Ron Galloway (C) and William Stroll (D).

Lunch was served by club volunteers, and then off to the fields for the 20-gauge. Forty-three entries, three 100s and five 99s later, shoot-offs began. Local celebrity Owen Knight emerged gun champ with Brent Edwards (another World Champion) as runner-up and Bryan Rogers sliding into third. Class, winners were Jack Krispin (AA), former 28-gauge World Champion Bruce Christian (A), Dan Adam (B), Loraine Malloy (C) and Folke Boman (D).

Sunday saw 42 shooters compete for 28-gauge champion, and the weather was great – no wind and grey skies. There were four 100s and five 99s, with Jack Krispin coming out on top, with Bryan Rogers runner-up and Owen Knight third. Class winners were Brent Edwards (AA), Jeff Roussey (A), Tom Pavlack (B), Stan Gorgacz (C) and William Stoll (D).

Lunch was served again to the delight of the shooters, and the last event of the weekend was ready to go. Thirty-eight shooters participated in the .410, resulting in a lone 100 by Jack Krispin. Fred Tschantz was runner-up and James Sykes third in a shoot-off of 99s. Class winners were Andrew Bielman (AA), David Duncan (A), Larry Israel (B), Kyle LaFountain (C) and Adam Smith (D).

The HOA winner was Jack Krispin with a splendid 399 – he previously shot a 400×400 at the Mid America at St. Joe earlier this year. There was a 3-way shoot-off of 395s, with Fred Tschantz securing runner-up, Bryan Rogers third and Brent Edwards taking AA1. Other HOA class winners were Kyle Krispin (A), William Sorensen (B), Adam Smith (C) and William Stroll (D).

Many thanks to all of the volunteers (and there are many) at St. Joe Valley, with special thanks to Debbi Perry for her assistance behind the computer. And a very special shout-out to Bruce Christian. Without these special folks, great events like this would not happen. Thank you again to the Michelson family for their continued support and to our shooters who attended. We hope to see you next year.

– Contributed by Tom Pavlack

 

L-R: Fred Tschantz (runner-up), Jack Krispin (champion), Bryan Rogers (3rd)

23rd Firebird 500 at Generations Skeet Club

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With a number of campers on site and a three-day span of beautiful weather, Generations Skeet Club in Patton, Pennsylvania, held their 23rd annual Firebird 500. The July shoot was sunny and warm with a light breeze throughout the weekend until an unexpected thunder and lightning storm appeared at 5 p.m. Sunday, which had the last flight’s shooters ducking for cover. Attendance totaled 57 competitors.

Bill Calvert, Alyssa Gormish, Joe Vescovi

Alyssa Gormish took the doubles champion title on Friday with a nice 99, and class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 94), Mike Wollard (A, 95), Skip Spessard (B, 95), Rich Rothrock (C, 90) and Mark Jones (D, 89). After the doubles event, the club treated the crowd to pizza and hot wings with refreshments and reminiscent stories throughout the evening.

Saturday morning saw the 28-gauge event, where Joe Vescovi captured the top honor with a 99. Class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 98), Jack Harshbarger (A, 98), Michael Vescovi (B, 98), Rich Rothrock (C, 94) and Mark Jones (D, 88). The 12-gauge followed and also included a belt buckle handicap 5-man team shoot. Twelve teams competed, and the final team standing was Mike Wollard, Skip Spessard, Gary Nace, Paul Hunt and Dan Felton. After a shoot-off with Chris Kline, Ryan Holtz and Clay Gormish, Alyssa Gormish added 12-gauge champion to her repertoire of wins for the weekend. Class firsts went to Chris Kline (AA, 100), Ryan Holtz (A, 100), Dan Felton (B, 99), Tim Holtz (C, 99), Chris Cohoon (D, 93), and rookie Tim Serbin captured E1 with an 83 at his first registered shoot.

After shoot-offs Saturday, Generations holds a cocktail party complete with beer, wine, venison cooked on the grill, and smoked cheeses, compliments of chef Joe Vescovi and his helpers. Dinner followed with prime rib beef, barbecue chicken, multiple covered dishes donated by the shooters, and desserts everywhere!

There was to be a surprise award ceremony for George Gleich, but, unfortunately, he was ill and could not attend; however, that did not stop the group from awarding him the first Generations Skeet Club President’s Cup!  Presented by board member Ryan Holtz, the event was streamed via Facebook Live so George and his family could experience the event with us. George has been a tremendous asset to the club and assists in so many ways, from doing shoot write-ups, to refereeing, coaching and attending all events and offering to help. He is a true gentleman of the sport, and we are proud to award him for his service to the skeet community.

Following dinner and the award ceremony is the 3-man blind Calcutta. Teams are chosen at random by computer and then auctioned off to the highest bidder. The cocktail party subsequently – and unashamedly – led to the increased bidding, as a total of over $3200 was bid and collected.

The .410 was the following Sunday morning, and brothers Matt and Ryan Holtz held the winning bid on the 3-man blind champions, taking home $1,000 as the top prize. The winning team of Spessard, Saussure, and Gans III were overheard lamenting their woes of not bidding enough to get their own team!

The .410 champion went to Joe Vescovi for a solid 99. Class firsts went to Kline (AA, 98), Skip Spessard (A, 96), Mark Saussure (B, 95), Joe Gans III (D, 91) and Chris Cohoon (D, 93).

With his first-ever 100 straight, Bill Calvert earned himself the 20-gauge champion title, and thus his hat was properly ventilated by a respectful line of proud friends. Class firsts went to Frank Smithmyer (AA, 98), Mike Naleppa (A, 100), Mark Eckert (B, 98), John Davies (C, 92) and Kurt Fisher (D, 84).

HOA honors went to Joe Vescovi and Chris Kline, each with 394; Alyssa Gormish (388, A and Lady HOA), Skip Spessard (B, 382), Tim Holtz (C, 375), Mark Jones (D, 352) and Zac Sutton (Junior HOA, 374).

Generations would like to extend a gracious thank you to our core of referees: Paige and Andrea McMullen, Rene Calvert, Alex Farrell, Braden Holtz, and all the shooters who assisted. And thank you to Lynn Holtz and all the girls for setting up for the dinner, desserts, and covered dishes, and to all those who helped to clean up the facility after the shenanigans dissipated. This truly is a team shoot with everyone pitching in to do whatever they can to make it fun for the entire group. From the bottom of our hearts, the Generations Family thanks you for your friendship and camaraderie.

– Contributed by Roy Holtz

38th Annual Conesus Lake Open

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The Maple Leaf flew proudly along with the Stars and Stripes on June 3-5, as we welcomed our Canadian friends back to Conesus Lake for our 38th Conesus Lake Open. 

Clear blue skies dominated the weekend weather, as did Canadian Brad McRae, who escaped back across the border with both the HOA and HAA titles.

In the HOA, Mathew Kelley finished as runner-up. That big guy known as “Little Charlie” Parks, of Ohio, finished first in AA, with Dave Sobiegray (A), B.J. Jensen (B), Marc Bennett (C) and John Yackiw (D) rounding out the class winners.

Ricky Laurito finished one target shy of McRae to take HAA runner-up, while Jeff Ventry (AA), Kody Hoth (A), Doug Paddock (B), Ron Casella (C) and Owen Cooley (D) emerged victorious in the classes.

Friday’s festivities got off to a raucous start as two of New York’s perennial “big dogs” went head-to-head to see who would take the doubles championship. Ricky Laurito emerged as victor after the shoot-off of 98s. David Cooley was runner-up. Congrats to Kody Hoth (AA), Dave Sobiegray (A), Doug Paddock (B), Glen Safford (C) and John Yackiw (D) for taking their classes.

At the CLO, we shoot the 12-gauge first and work our way to the little gun. Saturday was a bit breezy, and David Cooley tackled the conditions with the lone 99. Brad McRae outdistanced John Boone (A) and B.J. Jensen (B) for runner-up. John and B.J. settled for their class victories. Terry Prem (C), Marc Bennett (D) and Victor Stirpe (E) rounded out the class champs. We want to thank our sponsor, Steve Morsch, of Morsch Pipeline and Excavation for his support of this event!

In similar fashion, Rochester native Colin Smingler shot the lone 99 in the 20-gauge to emerge as champion. A three-way shoot-off between McRae (AA), Laurito and Jim Johnson (A) resulted in Laurito prevailing as runner-up. Chad Seelbinder eked out a 1-target margin over Mike Haff to win B honors, and Jim Reilly outdistanced the pack in C class. Junior shooter Owen Cooley triumphed in the D class shoot-off.

Saturday also includes an optional event – the 20-gauge Red Hot. In this event, a shooter’s 20-gauge score is handicapped, and all shooters compete head-to-head for a 4-way split of the money. In the shoot-off, participants receive half of their original handicap. Scott Van Etten finished fourth, Ricky Laurito third and Marc Bennett second. Junior shooter Owen Cooley hung on to beat the old guys for the win! This is not the last you’ll hear of Owen.

Saturday night festivities included a fine chicken barbecue for participants and their guests.

On Sunday, the 99s continued with Kelley, McRae and Laurito all gathering to shoot off for top dog. Brad McRae kept it clean to win, with Kelley taking runner-up and Laurito winning B class. Congrats to Dave Sobiegray (A), Cynthia Johnson (C) and John Yackiw (D) for their class victories.

The president and vice president of the New York State Skeet Shooting Association faced off to determine the .410 champion. Both Jeff Ventry (president) and Mathew Kelley (VP) shot solid 97s to “get to the dance.” Matthew smoked the pair to win and was promptly delegated the responsibility of handing out awards every night at the New York State Shoot by president Jeff! Class winners were McRae (AA), Sobiegray (A), Michael Haff (B), Dr. Kristen Harshman (C) and John Quealy (D).

There were some dominant performances in the concurrent events. Owen Cooley swept the Junior concurrent, while Jack Mutchler stole all the Senior Veteran titles.

John Boone won all 6 Military Vet Championships with Dave Cook finishing runner-up for them all.

Kristen Harshman was our Lady Champion in the HOA, HAA, 20 and .410. Cynthia Johnson grabbed the 12 and 28. The same two great lady shooters split the runners-up – Johnson the HOA, 20 and .410, Harshman the 12 and 28.

Mathew Kelley captured Sub-Sub-Senior champion to keep Brad McRae from the sweep. Runners-up included Kelley (HOA, HAA, 20, 28), B.J. Jensen (12), and McRae (.410).

Veteran awards went to Pennsylvanian Ron Johnson (HOA Champion, HAA Champion, 28 Champion, .410 Champion), Doug Goodman (12 and 20 Champion, HOA and HAA runner-up), Glen Safford (12 and 20 runner-up) and John Quealy (.410 runner-up). Canadian Dan Duhamel captured the 28-gauge runner-up with some nice shooting, eh?

In Triple-Sub, Kody Hoth was champ in the HOA, HAA and 12. Clay Tietjen won the 20, and Peter Bogdon the two smaller guns. Runners-up were Bogdon (HOA, 20, .410), Tietjen (HAA 28) and Zach Jacot (12).

Sub-Senior was a battle between six great shooters. Champs included Scott Van Etten (HOA, .410), Dave Cooley (HAA, 12), Jim Johnson (20) and Don Lewandowski (28). The runners-up went to Mike Haff (HOA), Van Etten (HAA), Brian Milanese (12), Cooley (20), Haff (28), and Lewandowski .(410).

Dave Sobiegray captured three Senior titles (HOA Champion, 28 and .410 runner-up), Ricky Laurito four (HAA and 28 Champion, HOA and 20 runner-up), and Jeff Ventry two (.410 Champion, HAA runner-up). Single winners included John Boone (12 Champion), Colin Smingler (20 Champion), and Mike Ferchaw (12 runner-up).

This leaves one story yet untold. We are thankful to have Pete Hamann of Pete’s Stockworks (https://petesstockworks.com/) sponsor a unique event that mirrors the NCAA Basketball March Madness. This is a FREE event where all 4-gun shooters are assigned to one of four brackets based on their 4-gun average. They shoot head-to-head in each gauge using a handicapped score (handicap is 70% of difference between average and 100, max 100). Any ties are shot-off each night.

After shooting all four guns, four shooters remain. They go to the shoot-off field for their chance at $500. When the dust settled late Sunday afternoon, Mike Haff, Ron Casella, John Boone and Owen Cooley became the representatives of their respective brackets and took to the field to see who would be crowned the Pete’s Knockdown Round Champion. Now, I’m not here to tell you that youthful exuberance, great eyesight, cat-like reflexes, and great training from a storied doubles shooter/coach/father had anything to do with it, but junior shooter Owen Cooley “schooled” the field. Nice job, Owen!

Since its inception, the Conesus Lake Open has been a regular member of the Top 100 shoots in the NSSA. We take great pride in hosting the event and welcoming our shooting community to our facility! See you in 2023!

– Contributed by Dan Caryl

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