CMP Recognizes Participants of Virus-Interrupted Western Games

May 29, 2020

Civilian Marksmanship Program▸The First Shot▸CMP Recognizes Participants of Virus-Interrupted Western Games

By Steve Cooper, CMP Training & Education Manager

CAMP PERRY, OHIO – The Civilian Marksmanship Program would like to recognize several individuals for their marksmanship performances at its Western Games matches at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, AZ in March.  CMP events ceased prematurely at the close of activities on Wednesday, March 16, as a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are disappointed for those competitors who fired in matches but were not recognized on-site because we couldn’t conduct an awards ceremony,” said Christie Sewell, CMP Programs Chief.  “Our competitors deserve recognition for great marksmanship,” she said.

The CMP is grateful for the support of the following organizations who contributed to the CMP Western Games:

The Garand Collectors Association awarded a $250 CMP gift certificate to US Army SPC Brandon Ryder, who fired a 284-5X to lead all shooters in the John C. Garand rifle match. Following SPC Ryder was David Geyer in second place with a score of 282-4x and Lyle Drenth placed third, scoring a 280-3X with an “x-count” tiebreaker over Maury Krupp, 280-1x. The high junior Garand shooter was Collin Domres and Drenth was the high senior. 

In the M16 EIC rifle match following the Rifle Marksmanship 101 school, CDR Jesse Currier, USNR, led all 40 competitors with a score of 384-9x. He and three others earned four intro points toward a Distinguished Rifleman badge. Among them was Tyler Fisher (383-11x), who was awarded a Hi-Lux rifle scope by Hi-Lux Optics as the high-scoring junior in the match.

Rounding out the points winners were LtCol Mark Gould, USAF (380-5x) and junior Weston Hallock (377-7X). Honorable mention goes to McKenna Beckham who was the high-scoring woman in the match, with a 365-1X.

Other random-draw prize winners at the Western Games were Michael Soock and Craig Peterson who received a new rifle stocks donated by Dupage Trading Company. Konstantine Christopoulos was also awarded a $50 gift certificate from Creedmoor Sports.

In CMP Games rifle competition, Boris Batkin captured the top slot in the Springfield rifle match, firing a lights-out 290-11x, followed by David Geyer (286-9x) and Bill Ellis, with a 284-4x. John Henderson led the seniors with a score of 280-7X and Lee McKinney earned the high grand senior ranking with a score of 276-2X.

James Denovchek posted the highest score in the Vintage Military rifle match (289-4x), edging David Geyer in second place, who fired a 287-7x. Lyle Drenth won senior honors (282-5x) and Lee McKinney was high grand senior in Vintage rifle with a 273-5x. 

 Bill Ellis took top honors in the Modern Military rifle match, firing a blistering 294-11x. Boris Batkin was not far behind at 292-8x and David Geyer was once again in the mix with a 189-5x for the third spot.

 Geyer, the most consistent high-scorer in the Games matches, captured both the Three-Gun (855-20x) and Four-Gun (1144-25x) Aggregate rifle titles.

John Henderson was the high-scorer in the As-Issued M1 Carbine rifle match, firing an overall score of 361-2X. His standing stage score of 91 was eight points higher than any other competitor, backing up the adage that “standing wins the match.” Charles Deilke fired a 354-1X in placing second and Richard Lane placed third with a 351-3X total.

The winning Vintage Sniper Team rifle match winner was Lakewood Snipers – team members Hector Miro (195-7X) and Alan Little (195-5X) with a team total score of 390-12X of 400 points possible. Little cleaned the 300-yard stage with 4X, and Miro fired a 97-5X at 600 yards on the way to victory. 

Placing second in the Vintage Sniper match was Memphis Bills – team members Andrew Granberry and Bill Ellis, scoring a 384-12X. Team Prescott Like Biscuit – members Christopher Hook and Art Merrill scored a 383-9X for third place. A total of 14 teams competed in this year’s Vintage Sniper Team rifle match.

Matches that were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic included the CMP 80-Shot Match (3 Days), CMP 2400 Aggregate Matches (Standing Slow-Fire, Sitting Rapid-Fire, Prone Rapid-Fire, Prone Slow-Fire and Overall Aggregate). Also, the CMP EIC Service Rifle and Match Rifle matches were cancelled.

CMP management was highly encouraged by the number of registrations that accumulated prior to the interrupted matches, eclipsing Fall 2018 figures. It was the first Spring version of the Western CMP Games, having swapped seasons with the CMP’s Oklahoma Games that were moved to October due to consistently inclement weather in Oklahoma City.

Save the Date! The Western CMP Games & CMP HP Rifle Matches will take place March 12-21, 2021. Pistol Matches possibly coming in 2021!

Note: The CMP Competition staff started mailing out plaques and medals on May 26^th. Competitors may submit photos with their award plaques and/or medals to competitions@thecmp.org.