Hi everyone. I have all sorts of accomplishments and awards to talk about this month. I need to make two corrections first on the All State team. Jeremiah Schultz should be second on the Open Team with a 93.57 average and Payton Wattowa should be fourth on the Sub Junior Team with a 90.62 average. I apologize to both of you for missing you. Good shooting and keep it up in the coming year!
Michael Hagerty has reached the 25,000 target plateau in Handicap targets. Way to go Mike! Keep it up in the years to come.
Sadly, I now have to talk about one of our shooters passing. Carl Scott recently died after a long trap shooting career. I did not personally know Carl, but after talking to people who did, I feel that it was my loss. Carl shot for years in our Northern Zone with his BT-99 shotgun. He was a good shot who reached the 27 yard line at one point. The real measure of a man is, however, how he treats other people and Carl was liked by everyone. He did not shoot a lot for years because he was busy taking care of his seriously ill wife. Not everyone would be willing to do something like this and it says a lot about his character. Rest well Carl! We will miss you.
Now I want to talk about Illinois shooters doing well during Grand week. I am only going to mention champions and runner ups due to space constraints. I would encourage everyone to check out the October and November issues of Trap and Field Magazine for full coverage. You can also read about Illinois shooters doing well in the major Autumn shoots. Now let's get to it:
Clay Target Championship: John Upcraft, A RU -- Daniel Schocke, B RU -- Marvin Carter, C CH -- Ian Lawrence, JrG RU -- Ziggy Tkaczenko, Chair CH
Doubles Championship: Chase Horton, AAA RU -- Lauren Dunn, L1 CH -- Ziggy Tkaczenko, Chair CH
Handicap Championship: Ian Lawrence, JrG CH -- Larry Norton, Chair CH
HOA 1000: Steve Margherio, Jr RU -- Ian Lawrence, JrG RU -- Mike Dennis, Vet CH
HAA: Jimmy Juban, A CH -- Daniel Schocke, B RU -- Randy Miller, Vet RU -- Ziggy Tkaczenko, Chair CH
HOA 2600: Ian Lawrence, JrG CH -- Ziggy Tkaczenko , Chair CH
Nice shooting everyone! I'm proud of all Illinois shooters who shot well at the Grand.
By the time you read this the big shoots in Florida and Arizona will be starting up. Good luck to all shooters, not just from Illinois, who participate in these shoots. I think it's going to be another challenging year so enjoy yourself as much as you can. Till next time.
Bill Duncan, ATA Delegate