2015 Camp Perry Open Features Record Performances

The Civilian Marksmanship Program has just announced results from the 9th annual Camp Perry Open air rifle shooting competition.

The 2015 Camp Perry Open was held on 16 – 18 January 2015 at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry, Ohio. It combines a 3×20 Junior Air Rifle competition with a 60 Shot Open Air Rifle and Pistol event, along with the most distinctive part of the Camp Perry Open that sets it apart from the rest – the Super Final.

The match began with the Junior Air Rifle 3×20 competition. Three relays of over 130 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.

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

Overall top shooters from the two days of competition in each event qualified for the finals – where all qualifying scores are dropped and each competitor begins with a score of zero. Finals were conducted in three shots series, followed by single shot eliminations.

In the Pistol Open Finals, SFC James Henderson, 47, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), bested the field with his finals score of 198.9. SGT Greg Markowski, 41, of the USAMU, barely trailed in second with a score of 198.5, followed by James Hall, 31, of the CMP, with a score of 174.9.

Glenn Zimmerman, 18, of The Ohio State Pistol team, fired a 191 in the final to become the overall Junior Pistol Champion, as Bryce Tucker, 19, of the Akron Rifle team, tallied a score of 188.2 for second. Zimmerman’s teammate, Irina Andrianova, 19, came in third, with her finals score of 166.1.

In the Rifle Open Finals, junior Michael Steinel outshot two members of the USAMU – SPC Erin McNeil, 26, who took second, and SSG George Norton, 30, who fired a score of 182.9 for third.

Steinel and McNeil added some excitement to the finals after they both stacked up a score of 203.4 – forcing a shoot-off. With calm confidence, both the experienced McNeil and the promising newcomer Steinel loaded their pellets. With the final shots fired, members of the crowd held their breaths as the scores appeared on the monitors – McNeil, 8.8; Steinel, 9.6.

In the Junior Rifle competition, it was the girls who led in the end, as Virginia Thrasher, 17, of Team Thrasher, overtook first place with her score of 203.3 – narrowly beating Samantha Peterson, 16, of Center Shots, who fired a 202.2 for second. MacKenzie Martin returned for the 60 Shot competition to give an outstanding performance with her third place finish – tallying a score of 181.9 in the final.

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 entrants.

Winning the Open Rifle competition was The Masters, with an aggregate score of 3686.9. Members were Dempster Christensen, Ann Alves and Lisette Grunwell-Lacey. The Taunton Marksmanship Unit Diamonds was the overall Junior Rifle team, with a score of 3616.5. Team members were MacKenzie Martin, Ruby Gomes and Margaret Flanders.

The Ohio State University Varsity Pistol team overtook the Open Pistol competition with a score of 3244-37x. Team members were Glenn Zimmerman, Irina Andrianova and Michael Soklaski.

The Super Finals was also fired during the weekend – bringing fun, excitement and laughs with music blaring, fans cheering and blow horns sounding – contrary to the usually silent finals conducted during air events. After a tough internal battle with the external elements, USAMU members SFC James Henderson and SSG George Norton won the Pistol and Rifle finals, respectively.

For a complete list of results from the 2015 Camp Perry Open, visit https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=match&task=edit&match=11831. Photos from the event can be found at http://cmp1.zenfolio.com/.

For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org for more information and program descriptions.