Koenig Locks In 20th Win at 2024 CMP Bianchi Cup Pistol Tournament
June 5, 2024
By Ashley Dugan, CMP Writer
HALLSVILLE, Mo. – Douglas Koenig, 55, of Deland, FL, continued an astonishing run at the 2024 Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Bianchi Cup as he secured the 20th victory of his career at the celebrated international pistol tournament.
Held May 21-24 at the prestigious Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Missouri, the CMP Bianchi Cup saw 150 individuals from seven different countries participating in the mix of action pistol competitions. It was the second year of hosting for the CMP, with many improvements made from last year’s inaugural match.
“I feel like things went a lot better this year,” said Jim Henderson, CMP pistol manager. “We had a few miscues, but we are learning, and we are looking to making a few more changes for next year that we hope will be well received.”
Henderson was grateful to the many sponsors of event, including title sponsor, MidwayUSA, as well as the competitors and staff for their support.
“We know you travel far and put an amazing amount of effort and money into coming to this event, and we want to make sure you have the best match possible!” he said. “Thank you to all the volunteers and the staff at Green Valley R&P! Darren and his crew do an amazing job keeping everything running seamlessly, and Pat Cooper did a great job as Match Director. The event would not happen without her and her dedicated crew of people.”
“Julie Golob did an awesome job as emcee for the awards, and her two girls are priceless to have doing what they do!” he went on. “Someday I hope to win a step challenge, but that’s a story for another time.”
With his outstanding performances, Koenig was able to narrowly surpass last year’s champion (and winningest competitor in the event’s history), Bruce Piatt, by just two x-ring shots to claim his win.
Though he fell just short of the overall title, Piatt, 63, of Damascus, PA, still managed to garner a memorable Bianchi Cup by earning the overall win in the Mover and Falling Plate events and obtaining the Law Enforcement Champion distinction.
Mark Itzstein, 54, of Frisco, TX, led the Barricade event – besting SSG Anthony Heinauer, 27, of Fort Benning, GA, in a shoot off after both achieved scores of 480-48X, along with Koenig and Walter Johnson, 30, of Pine Mountain, GA, who each fired the same score. Heinauer went on to lead the new 2nd Gun competition, with a score of 1918-153X.
Also finding wins were Metallic National Champion, SFC Ryan Franks, 36, of Ellerslie, GA, Production National Champion, SSG Walker Buckman, 28, of Floyd, VA, and SSG Christopher Hudock, 34, of Columbus, GA, who amazingly marked the first ever score of 1920 in the Production Optic category.
Ricky Corbello, 64, of Lake Charles, LA, earned the inaugural Rimfire Open Champion title (with the category just introduced at this year’s Bianchi Cup), as Cherie Blake, 53, of Huon Creek, Victoria, Australia, brought home the Woman National title and Bridger Steege, 17, of Cheyenne, WY, earned the Roger E. Hawkins Memorial Junior National Champion award.
Congratulations also goes to Bruno Steinemann, 66, of Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland, who received a donated High Standard .22 pistol, number 1 of 999, for earning 21st place overall.
“I can’t thank my compatriots and counterparts from the CMP staff enough. If you’ve never run a match for a 150 people, it can be daunting, to say the least,” Henderson added. “If you’re able, come shoot or volunteer at Camp Perry during the National Matches this summer, where we run events for thousands of people in six weeks! I look forward to seeing all of you on a range somewhere.”
Other Remarkable Winners of the 2024 CMP Bianchi Cup:
Practical Results: Douglas Koenig, 55, of Deland, FL – 480-47X
Rimfire Division: Douglas Koenig, 55, Deland, FL – 480-47X
2nd Gun Division: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 27, Fort Benning, GA – 1918-153X
Mover Results: Bruce Piatt, 63, Damascus, PA – 480-43X
Barricade Results: Mark Itzstein, 54, of Frisco, TX – 480-48X
Falling Plates Results: Bruce Piatt, 63, Damascus, PA – 480-43X
2-Man Team:
Metallic: BDMP Germany (Roman Hauber, Thomas Glas) – 1858-116X
Production: BDMP Germany (Michael Paa, Frank Reiche – 1817-107X
Production Optics: Top Gov (SSG Christopher Hudock, Simon Golob) – 1914-160X
International Team: Pistol Australia 1 (Brett Foster, Cherie Blake) – 1918-168X
4-Man Team: In Need of a Name (Mark Itzstein, Tony Holmes, Bruce Piatt, Douglas Koenig) – 1920-179X
Special Categories:
Military Veteran Champion: Stephen Stewart, 51, Carlock, IL – 1912-163X
Law Enforcement Champion: Bruce Piatt, 63, Damascus, PA – 1920-181X
Active Service Champion: SSG Walter Johnson, 30, Pine Mountain, GA – 1920-178X
Revolver Champion: Glenister Ayre, 64, Crestmead, Queensland, Australia – 1904-142X
International Champion: Yukishige Mimbu, 59, Auckland, New Zealand – 1914-158X
International Championship Awards:
Grand Senior Champion: John Dowell, 73, LaVale, MD – 1853-120X
Senior Champion: Vance Schmid, 73, Marion, IL – 1912-163X
Roger E. Hawkins Memorial Junior National Champion: Bridger Steege, 17, Cheyenne, WY – 1894-144X
Woman National Champion: Cherie Blake, 53, Huon Creek, Victoria, Australia – 1910-150X
Metallic National Champion: SFC Ryan Franks, 36, Ellerslie, GA – 1916-163X
Production National Champion: SSG Walker Buckman, 28, Floyd, VA – 1888-135X
Provisional Production Optic National Champion: Seiichi Ishikawa, 53, Montebello, CA – 1912-142X
Production Optic National Champion: SSG Christopher Hudock, 34, Columbus, GA – 1920-166X
Rimfire Open Overall: Ricky Corbello, 64, Lake Charles, LA – 1914-160X
Open National Champion: Douglas Koenig, 55, of Deland, FL – 480-47X
View a complete list of results on the CMP’s Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/2024CMPBianchiCupResults. See photos of the event, available for free download, at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f34546571. CMP would also like to thank John Scoutten and the Shooting USA team for great video footage of the event. View the full playlist on the CMP’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBXBxI0vaNWRbt5Z3FTM2fBS89iRR6s4a.
About the CMP Bianchi Cup:
The CMP Bianchi Cup is comprised of four events: the Practical Event, Moving Target (Mover) Event, Barricade Event, and the Falling Plates Event. Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with strong and weak hands at various stages. There are no makeup shots in the CMP Bianchi Cup, adding to its difficulty. Competitors fire in Open, Metallic, Production and Production Optic classes within each event as well as Rimfire categories. Learn more about the CMP Bianchi Cup at https://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-pistol-program/cmp-bianchi-cup/.
If you are interested in sponsoring the 2025 CMP Bianchi Cup, please reach out to Jim Henderson at jhenderson@thecmp.org.
It is great that Jim Henderson has found a new role in pistol marksmanship. Head of the CMP Pistol Program is the perfect home for this great past champion. Always a gentleman, he greets young and old and welcomes competitors and past competitors alike to the Camp Perry grounds. I look forward to seeing him at the coffee shop in Port Clinton.
Donald,
Thanks for your kind words about Jim…..we love having him part of our CMP Team!
Christine