2022 OHIO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

BY MAGGIE KELCH

The 2022 Ohio State Sporting Clays Championship set new

The Field Course, designated “Red” for the State Championship, winds its way through farm fields and upland game habitat featuring some challenging wooded stations. The “Green” course, also known as Woods, sports stations in a mature woodlot presenting targets over lakes and into ravines. This year, legendary shooter and target setter Jon Kruger utilized expanded portions of the red course to create a truly scenic course. The green course wound its way back through a wooded area that is dotted with several ponds. This offered shooters an opportunity to see a beautiful natural setting while they faced challenging, technical targets that tested their abilities. Third on the docket was the blue course, or “South” as the regulars call it, and is the newest layout on site offering wooded background and excellent terrain.

Manager Shawn Spindel and his team used seldom seen areas of the picturesque facility to lay out a full shoot program for the weekend. Kruger travelled from Colorado to set the targets for the Main Event, Prelim and FITASC. Ed Prechal of Top Gun set and managed the Make-A-Break and 5-Stand events. The Hill ‘n Dale staff set the targets for the Side Events including the Sub-Gauge, Pump, Side X Side and Super Sporting events, which were all held on the South (Blue) course. The registration team was led by Lois Neely with assistance from Hill ‘n Dale staff and members. Despite the high humidity and occasional rain, everything ran like clockwork.

There were 330 shooters competing on Kruger’s technical 100-target preliminary on Thursday and Friday, situated on the red course. The top shooters in the Prelim event were from all over the country. Elias Tollefson, a Junior shooter from Ohio was the Master Class Champion with a 99. Just one target behind him, with a 98, was Bill McGuire who had travelled from Tennessee. High Lady in the Prelim was Amber Brown of Michigan, just one target ahead of Paula Caletri.

PRELIM

Side events held at the Ohio State Championships included 5-Stand, Super Sporting, Pump Gun, Side X Side and three sub-gauge events for 20-gauge, 28-gauge and .410

bore. The 5-Stand was held on one of the Skeet Fields, close to the Lodge where registration was located, and shooters gathered to compare notes and enjoy food and vendors. The remainder of the side events were all held on South Course. The Sub-Gauge competitions were completed on Saturday afternoon, while Super Sporting and 5-Stand wrapped up on Sunday. The awards for the side events were handled differently this year. No High Overall Champions were determined in the individual events. Instead, honors were presented to the top shooters in each class and in the concurrent categories for each of the side events.

Each year, the OSCA Board awards the Kiddie Cup to the Ohio resident with the highest overall sub-gauge score at the Ohio State Sporting Clays Championship. The award is named for Mark Kiddie, an OSCA board member who was a perennial favorite for the small gauge events. The Kiddie Cup was first presented in 2009, just a few months after Kiddie’s death. It is a travelling trophy fashioned from an award that had been in Kiddie’s personal collection. This year, the Kiddie Cup was awarded to Scott Stoffl who broke a 50 in 20-gauge, a 48 in 28-gauge and a 46 in the .410 bore to finish his outing with the highest overall average in the sub-gauges.

5-Stand event was set and managed expertly again this year by Ed Prechal, of Top Gun, and enticed 162 shooters to participate. At the end of the weekend, Master class champion was John Fritz who won the tie breaker with Bill McGuire to take the top spot. Ohio shooter Christina Loudenslager earned the Ladies Champion title with a 46x50.

There were three perfect scores of 50x50 shot in the 20-gauge event, which had 171 participants. The three shooters were in different classes, so they each were honored as class champions. Erich Rauh (M1) from Maryland, Ohio’s own Scott Stoffl (AA1) and Rick Gunderson (A1) hailing from Illinois all mastered the 20-gauge course. Mary Krentz of Michigan took the Ladies crown.

Of the 159 competitors in the 28-gauge competition, three posted excellent scores of 49. Again, they were in different classes so were each honored as class champions. Larry Welti (AA1), Dennis Wagner (A1) and Paula Caletri (C1) and (L1), rounded out that list. One of the most notable shoot-offs of the weekend took place on Saturday evening when junior shooter William Browning had to shoot against his father, Steven Browning, and Mike Prexta to claim top honors in B class. The father/son shoot-off elicited the most crowd participation that evening. William ultimately prevailed in the shoot-off to take the class B trophy. There were 89 shooters braving the course with the .410 bore this year. Three shooters walked off the course with scores of 47x50 to claim their class championships. They were David De Fernelmont (M1) of Pennsylvania, Kevin Sheen (AA1) and Eric Bevington (E1). Paula Caletri once again claimed Ladies honors with the little gun.

Ohioan Bill Mayer mastered the pump gun course with a perfect score of 50x50 to top the 86 shooters who competed in the event this year, claiming Master class champion honors. Lady shooter and Ohioan Mackenzie Rummell came out on top to claim her trophy, six targets ahead of the closest competitor.

Side by Side

50 shooters donned horizontal barrels to participate in the sideby-side event this year. Class champions were Mike Pancerev (M1) from Pennsylvania with a 48x50 which was topped by Ohio’s Adam Baluch (AA1) who ending the round with a 49x50.

Pennsylvanian Paula Caletri kept the momentum going to take another top Ladies spot with her 43x50.

On Saturday night, the 50-bird Super Sporting layout was set up on the South course in place of the sub-gauge stations. A record crowd of 171 shooters chased the trophy, with steady course traffic from opening at 8:30am to closing at 3pm.

Several shoot-offs were held on Sunday evening to determine the Class champions in this event. Ohioan Bill Mayer put up another 50x50 to set up a shoot-off with Chad Roberts of California, Mayer prevailed in the shoot-off to claim the M1 spot. Also shooting a 50 on the course was fellow Ohio shooter Brian Stern who claimed A1, one target ahead of John White III. Michigander Mary Krentz put up a 44x50 and won the tie breaker against Paula Caletri to take yet another Ladies title.

Ohio Sporting Clays Association President Joyce Waters presided over the Saturday evening banquet that featured a great dinner, abundant door prizes, several raffles, along with the induction of a new member into the OSCA Hall of Fame. Being selected for the OSCA Hall of Fame is a great honor and is not bestowed on an annual basis. Instead, it is awarded by the Board of the OSCA only when they deem it appropriate to honor an individual who has distinguished him/herself.

This year, 12-time Ohio State Ladies Champion, Eva Reda became the first woman to be inducted into the Ohio Sporting Clays Hall of Fame. Reda found her love of shooting at 14 years of age with her father and OSCA Hall of Fame inductee, Dave Hudgins. What started as a way to spend more time with her father, turned into a pursuit of excellence. When introducing Reda, OSCA Board Member Christina Loudenslager said, “Eva’s hard work and dedication continue to transform into, not only her own personal success, but an inspiration to other women competing throughout the sporting clays community. Eva is, and always will be, a trailblazer for women in the world of sporting clays. She has been described as the modern-day Annie Oakley: a fiery little redhead who has given so much for this sport. We are proud to induct Eva Reda into the OSCA Hall”.

The Ohio State Championship featured a 100-bird FITASC main and 50 bird 20-gauge, and 28-gauge FITASC events. As with the other sub-gauge events, no HOA champion was declared in the 20-gauge or 28-gauge FITASC events. Awards were given for class and concurrent champions in both.

In the 20-gauge FITASC championship a pair of Ohioans took the top spots. Dan Bailey of Eagle’s Nest Sporting Grounds was Master Class champion with a 46, equaled by Dustin Maroon who took the AA1 spot. Christina Loudenslager dominated the Ladies FITASC competition. She was Ladies Champion in the 20-gauge FITASC event with a 43x50, in the 28-gauge FITASC event with a 44x50, and in the FITASC main with a 91x100. The 28-gauge event was led by Dustin

FITASC – OHIO RESIDENT

Maroon’s 47x50 for AA1 and David De Fernelmont’s 46x50 for M1. Darrin Plys matched De Fernelmont’s score to earn the B1 trophy.

Four old style parcours made up the 12-gauge FITASC main event. At the Ohio State Championship, only shooters who are residents of the State of Ohio are eligible for state trophies in the Main Event and 12ga FITASC. So, while Bill McGuire of Tennessee and Ethan Smith of Ohio both shot a 98 in the FITASC event, Smith was awarded the honors and trophy as Ohio FITASC Champion. Runner-up in the event was Russell Gilliam with a 96.

The 200 bird Main Event at the Ohio State Championships was held on two courses over Saturday and Sunday. There were 284 shooters vying for Ohio resident honors and 133 for non-residents looking to earn some of the payouts.

At the conclusion of the event on Sunday, Travis McLeod of Ontario came out on top with a 195, followed by Blaize Whitehead of Pennsylvania who posted a 191. But, at this state shoot, it’s all about who claims the title of Ohio Sporting Clays Champion. As in FITASC, only resident shooters can win trophies and awards.

With a 93 on the red course and a 97 on the green course, Dustin Maroon of Defiance, Ohio, earned his second Ohio State Resident Champion trophy. Just one target behind him for runner-up was Christian Seybert with a 189. Maroon is a band teacher for the Stryker Local Schools and works at the Adams Conservation Club as a target setter on their 5-Stand course.

Christina Loudenslager, who finished the event with a 184 was crowned Ohio Ladies Sporting Champion and M3. This is the third time she has earned the Ladies Champion title, adding this crown to her 2019 and 2021 wins.

Following the shoot, the OSCA Board announced that Loudenslager has been elected President of the OSCA. Looking forward to next year, the OSCA Board announced that the Ohio State Championships will be held at Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo during the first week of August. n

OHIO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RESIDENT

OHIO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP NON-RESIDENT