Korkhin, Schmeltzer Lead 20th Anniversary of CMP’s Camp Perry Open
January 24, 2026
By Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – The 2026 Camp Perry Open welcomed 270 individuals from across the country, ready to compete in a series of exciting air gun competition.
Over the last two decades, the Camp Perry Open has become an annual tradition and one of the CMP’s most renowned air gun events of the year. The schedule includes a junior 3×20 air rifle match and 60 Shot air rifle and air pistol competitions for adults, juniors and para/SH athletes. Elimination finals each day determine overall winners, with an exciting Super Final adding extra flair to the lineup.
The Camp Perry Open is also known as one of the coldest events of the year – famously, unfortunately and always coincidentally held on the same weekend as Northwest Ohio’s first big snowstorm of the year.
“I remember the very first Camp Perry Open, in the Armory on paper targets, because that was my first match ever in Ohio and my first year shooting,” said Catherine Green, CMP’s North Competition Center Coordinator and an alumnus of the Texas Christian University rifle team. “The locks on the van froze, and we had to send my teammate in through the trunk to pop the lock from the inside to retrieve our gear.”
“I’ve never known a Camp Perry Open in January that didn’t have weather,” she added with a laugh.
Of course, the eminent blustery weather of January followed suit in 2026.
Friday’s 3×20 match, the opening event, saw snowy gales and sleet move through the area.
Inside the warmth of the competition center, Brian Rico, 18, of Zion Benton Navy JROTC, IL, earned a commanding win in the sporter 3×20 event by a near five-point margin. Claiming the top spot in precision was Jordan Richards, 15, of Seitzland Rifle Team, PA.
The weekend continued with light flurries off and on and ended with sub-zero windchills on Sunday. Luckily, competitors and guests avoided the chill with help from Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee truck and some excellent competition on the range.
Ada Korkhin, 21, of Brookline, MA, was the overall Air Pistol competitor after a hard-fought final – besting defending champion, Suman Sanghera, 20, of Great Falls, VA.
Korkhin is a current member of The Ohio State University pistol team. This was her second trip to the Camp Perry Open, with her first as a junior in 2019.
She’s been involved in marksmanship since she was nine years old, and even into high school, she knew it was a sport she wanted to continue into the future – especially at her school of choice.
“I knew how amazing the coaches were and how great the facilities were and the resources at Ohio State, so I knew that school was for me,” she explained. “I was aiming for that my entire high school career.”
Her experience at the university has given her a new perspective into the sport and has helped improve her process on the range, even during the 2026 Camp Perry Open.
“I didn’t have many expectations,” she said of her strategy coming into the competition. “We’ve just come back from the holidays, starting the new school semester, but we’ve been training pretty hard for the last week and getting back into it.”
“I just wanted to work on the goals I set for myself with my shot process, without much expectation on score,” she went on.
Korkhin finished Day 1 of competition 11 points behind Sanghera but came back strong on Day 2 to end just three points down.
The elimination final on Day 2 collected the top eight competitors of the day and sent each back to a score of “zero” on the firing line, making each shot count.
In the end, Korkhin was steady enough throughout the tough test of endurance to earn the overall win.
“I tried to stay focused, for the most part – not really let my mind drift while I’m shooting, but also not put too much pressure on myself,” she said. “I just trusted my practice.”
Though Sanghera (who won the Junior portion of the match in 2022, 2023 and 2025 along with adding two Open wins during that time) fell short of a repeat overall victory, she once again dominated the Junior competition – leading by a seven-point margin.
On the air rifle side, Elizabeth Schmeltzer, 27, of Sandusky, OH, earned the overall win. Schmeltzer, an instructor with Team Winning Solutions, finished in second at last year’s Camp Perry Open but returned in 2026 to claim victory.
Maggie Palfrey, 17, of Indiana, PA, led the Junior rifle competition, firing consistent shots in the final to hold a three-point margin.
Outside of regular competition and serving as one of the most fun parts of the Camp Perry Open, the Super Final event featured the Top 38 athletes from Day 1’s air rifle and air pistol competitions in an overall elimination final, surrounded by costumes, music, noisemakers and general overstimulation.
The top three remaining earned special Super Final cowbell medals and cash awards from the CMP!
Super Final Results:
Air Rifle:
- Karlie Lynn, 17, Hopewell, PA ($200)
- Maggie Palfrey, 17, Indiana, PA ($150)
- Ashley Haymond, 17, Shelbyville, KY ($100)
Air Pistol:
- Suman Sanghera, 20, Great Falls, VA ($200)
- Kara Ehmer, 47, Atlanta, GA ($150)
- Sam Gens, 26, Greenwood Village, CO ($100)
Awards were also presented to Most Spirited and Best Dressed, with Ella Lee, 17, of West Roxbury, MA, earning Most Spirited. Princy Solis, 17 of Saratoga Springs, NY, earned Best Dressed, wearing a homemade piñata costume (that she made twice after forgetting the pants portion at home).
Though no award was presented for the category, the 2026 Camp Perry Open also featured an All-Senior team, “Walked With Dinosaurs” – Paul Borthwick (62), Paula Lambertz (66), Jon Speck (70) and coach Brian Parziale (62). The group plans on returning in the future, with more team names in mind like “Ran With Dinosaurs,” “Rode The Dinosaurs” and “Fed The Dinosaurs.”
Other Results of the 2026 Camp Perry Open:
Three-Position Juniors:
Sporter Individual:
- Brian Rico, 18, Zion Benton Navy JROTC, IL – 429.6
- Wesley Rumbaugh, 18, Des Moines Central Campus MCJROTC, IA – 424.2
- Reyna Limon, 15, Zion Benton Navy JROTC, IL – 414.1
Precision Individual:
- Jordan Richards, 15, Seitzland Rifle Team, PA – 466.8
- Owen Stauch, 16, Fort Harmar Junior Rifle Team, OH – 464.8
- Nathanial Kauffman, 17, Seitzland Rifle Team, PA – 453.9
Sporter Team:
- Zion Benton Navy JROTC Team 1, Illinois
- Zion Benton Navy JROTC Team 2, Illinois
- Des Moines Central Campus MCJROTC, Iowa
Precision Team:
- Seitzland Sting, Pennsylvania
- Mason Dixon Junior Rifle Club, West Virginia
- American Legion Post 295, Ohio
60 Shot Rifle:
Junior:
- Maggie Palfrey, 17, Indiana, PA – 250.0
- Angela Yang, 13, Maple, ON – 247.5
- Karlie Lynn, 17, Hopewell, PA – 226.4
Open:
- Elizabeth Schmeltzer, 27, Sandusky, OH – 251.1
- Jordan Richards, 15, Odenton, MD – 249.1
- Karlie Lynn, 17, Hopewell, PA – 228.0
60 Shot Pistol:
Junior:
- Suman Sanghera, 20, Great Falls, VA – 242.1
- Marcus Klemp, 20, Missoula, MT – 235.5
- Maya Gantsooj, 19, Schaumburg, IL – 203.8
Open:
- Ada Korkhin, 21, Brookline, MA – 241.6
- Suman Sanghera, 29, Great Falls, VA – 238.4
- Sam Gens, 26, Greenwood Village, CO – 213.4
60 Shot Para:
SH1 Prone Rifle
- MAJ John Arbino, 400406, Williamsburg, VA – 1246.6
- SFC Jay Martin, 400421, Woodbridge, VA – 1244.6
SH2 Prone:
- Dorian Solimano, 482880, Brewster, NY – 461.6
SH1 Standing Rifle:
- Taylor Farmer, 164860, Castalia, OH – 618.4
SH2 Standing Rifle:
- Taylor Farmer, 164860, Castalia, OH – 617.1
Find a complete list of results of the 2026 Camp Perry Open at https://ct.thecmp.org/CampPerryOpen26Results.
Photos of the event are available online for free viewing and download at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f1067198307.
Camp Perry Open History:
Celebrating its 20th season in 2026, the annual Camp Perry Open has evolved over the years, beginning in the Armory of Building 3 – home to CMP’s headquarters and the CMP North Store. The inaugural match was fired on 20 lanes of paper targets and, candidly, served as a testing ground for CMP’s competitive capabilities.
The experiment was, of course, a success and helped convince the CMP Board to invest in new air gun competition centers at Camp Perry, Ohio, and Anniston, Ala.
CMP’s Competitions Department grew, and so did the sport. The need for greater technology and more space became evident, with the CMP constructing its indoor 80-point, 10-meter electronic target air gun range in 2009. The facility expanded again in 2014, when the CMP Board decided to name it the “Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center,” to honor two-time Olympic gold medalist and Director of Civilian Marksmanship Emeritus, Gary Anderson.
With updated facilities and a respected reputation, the CMP’s air gun department expanded to host several local-, regional- and national-level events, including the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 and the National Air Gun events during the CMP’s National Matches – a month-long series of events held at Camp Perry each summer.
Despite its humble beginnings, the Camp Perry Open is not only commemorated as an essential event within the air gun circuit today but forever stands as one of the pioneering matches for the CMP.
In 2021, the competition briefly moved to a May timeframe to allow the inclusion of smallbore matches but moved back to its original January schedule in 2024.
Learn more about the Camp Perry Open at https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/camp-perry-open/.