Bruce Piatt Marks Memorable Win During Inaugural CMP Bianchi Cup
June 14, 2023
By Ashley Dugan, CMP Writer
HALLSVILLE, Mo. – During the 2023 Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) Bianchi Cup International Pistol Tournament, Bruce Piatt, 62, of Damascus, PA, made history as he earned the overall National Champion title and his seventh Bianchi Cup – 30 years after he earned his first. His 2023 victory marked Piatt as the competitor with the most wins in the Bianchi Cup’s existence, though surpassed by Practical Open Event winner Douglas Koenig, 54, of Deland, FL, who holds 19 wins in his career.
The CMP Bianchi Cup International Pistol Tournament, the second longest running pistol championship in the world, was held May 23-26, 2023, at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club in Missouri. Though the CMP Bianchi Cup has been an annual event since 1979, this year was the first time the match was hosted by the CMP.
Title sponsor MidwayUSA and many other generous sponsors provided tremendous support as over 135 individuals participated in the CMP Bianchi Cup, including several international competitors from Australia, Barbados, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.
“The 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup went great!” said CMP pistol coordinator, Jim Henderson. “It was my privilege to be part of the behind-the-scenes workings for this awesome event! Darren Maher and all the Green Valley R&P staff were the best crew I’ve had the pleasure to work with in a long time. Pat Cooper and her army of volunteers did an absolutely fantastic job, and this event would not have happened if it weren’t for those two groups of amazing people.”
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.
Mark Blake, 52, traveled across the world from Australia’s Huon Creek to win the Open Championship title while obtaining the overall win in the Moving Target event. Special congratulations also goes to Roman Hauber, 57, who traveled from Regensburg, Germany, to claim the Mover Metallic win. U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s (USAMU) SFC Ryan Franks, 35, of Ellerslie, GA, won the Metallic category in the Practical and Barricade events.
Leading the Production class was USAMU teammate SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, of Columbus, GA, who earned wins in all four events, while fellow teammate SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, of Fort Benning, GA, earned the Production Optic title. Through their talented athletes (SSG Hudock, SFC Franks, SSG Heinauer and SSG Walter Johnson), the USAMU claimed the 4-Man team match.
Benito Martinez, 44, of Albuquerque, NM, brought home the Open win in the Falling Plates match, while the Production Optic classes were led by Simon Golob, 48, of Kearney, MO (Practical), SSG Heinauer (Mover) and Seiichi Ishikawa, 52, of Montebello, CA (Barricade).
“I’d like to thank all the competitors for coming to the 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup,” Henderson added. “I know there are a few small things we can polish for next year, and I very much appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we move forward into a new era for this historic event. I can safely say that the CMP and I are very much looking forward to many more years of this great championship!”
Other top athletes at the 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup included SFC Sally Talbott, 46, of Columbia, SC, who was the Overall Woman Champion, Troy Mattheyer, 60, of Ellis, KS, who earned the John Cameron Memorial Senior title and Vance Schmid, 72, of Marion, IL, who was the Grand Senior Champion.
Overall Winners of the 2023 CMP Bianchi Cup:
Practical Results:
Open: Douglas Koenig, 54, Deland, FL – 480-47X
Metallic: SFC Ryan Franks, 35, Ellerslie, GA – 480-34X
Production: SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, Columbus, GA – 469-26X
Production Optic: Simon Golob, 48, Kearney, MO – 480-33X
Mover Results:
Open: Mark Blake, 52, Huon Creek, Australia – 480-39X
Metallic: Roman Hauber, 57, Regensburg, Germany – 476-27X
Production: SSG Christopher Hudock, 33, Columbus, GA – 478-23X
Production Optic: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, Fort Benning, GA – 480-32X
Barricade Results:
1st: SSG Walter Johnson, 29, of Pine Mountain, GA – 480-48X
2nd: Brett Foster, 46, Bundabert, Queensland, Australia – 480-48X
3rd: Stephen Stewart, 50, Carlock, IL – 480-48X
Falling Plates Results:
1st: Benito Martinez, 44, Albuquerque, NM – 480-48X
2nd: SSG Walter Johnson, 29, of Pine Mountain, GA – 480-48X
3rd: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 26, of Fort Benning, GA – 480-48X
2-Man Team:
Metallic: BDMP – 1848-121X
Production Optic: Team DHS – 1887-118X
International Team: Pistol Australia 1 – 1920-180X
4-Man Team: USAMU Blue (SSG Christopher Hudock, SFC Ryan Franks, SSG Anthony Heinauer, SSG Walter Johnson) – 1916-143X
Special Categories:
Military Veteran Champion – Mark Blake, 1920-178X
Law Enforcement Champion – Bruce Piatt, 1920-178X
Active Service Champion – SSG Walter Johnson, 1918-172X
Revolver Champion – Steve Weathersby, 1914-154X
International Champion – Mark Blake, 1920-178X
International Championship Awards:
Grand Senior Champion: Vance Schmid, 1918-157X
John Cameron Memorial Senior Champion: Troy Mattheyer, 1916-154X
Roger E. Hawkins Memorial Junior National Champion: Malcolm Itzstein, 1892-142X
Woman National Champion: Sally Talbot, 1889-152X
Metallic National Champion: SFC Ryan Franks, USA, 1914-141X
Production National Champion: SSG Christopher Hudock, USA, 1901-128X
Production Optic National Champion: SSG Anthony Heinauer, 1916-146X
Open National National Champion: Mark Blake, 1920-178X
National Action Pistol Championships National Champion: Bruce Piatt, 1920-178X
Learn more about the CMP Bianchi Cup at https://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-pistol-program/cmp-bianchi-cup/. View a complete list of results on the CMP’s Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/2023CMPBianchiCupResults. See photos of the event, available for free download, at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f340694381.
If you are interested in sponsoring the 2024 CMP Bianchi Cup, please reach out to Jim Henderson at [email protected].