Stunning ‘Sweatah Weather,’ Performances Highlight 2024 CMP New England Games
November 6, 2024
By Jennifer Green, CMP Contributor
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) hosted the New England Games for the eighth time in beautiful Jericho, Vt., at Camp Ethan Allen. Staff members were so grateful to the Vermont National Guard for being generous hosts and for allowing the use of their beautiful facilities.
The New England Games took place in late September and was jam-packed with fun from the start. The smell of fall was in the air – a competitor even brought a custom carved pumpkin to display at the check in area!
The weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous (except for one day of torrential rain). The morning air was crisp and felt like the start of “sweatah weather.” The mountains provided the perfect backdrop to the event. If you weren’t focused on your target downrange or catching up with other marksmen, you could look out to the mountains and watch the crimson leaves grow brighter every day.
The week started, of course, with an introductory class for both Rifle and Pistol, followed by an Excellence-In-Competition (EIC) match for each, where the top 10 percent of competitors were awarded their first EIC points towards a Distinguished Badge.
Paul Edwards won the rifle EIC match with a score of 366-4X, and John Desroches took first place in the pistol EIC match with a score of 274-3X. Congratulations to both! There’s nothing better than getting a taste of competition and getting closer to achieving your goals!
Nathan Zajac dominated in many pistol categories, showcasing his precision and high level shooting. He claimed the top spot in the 40 Shot Pistol Match, Pistol EIC Match, EIC Service Revolver Match,.22 Rimfire Aggregate, Match Pistol 2700 Any Sights and Overall Individual Pistol Aggregate. He was also a part of “Range 5-1,” which won the 2-Man Pistol Team event.
TSgt Nicolas Poirier also had an impressive showing in Vermont. His discipline, accuracy and consistency earned him first place in the Center Fire 900 Aggregate and .45 Pistol Aggregate for Any Sights.
TSgt Christopher DeForge was the guy to beat in Metallic Sights categories, with a 742-9X in the .45 Pistol 900 Aggregate and a 2,240-29X in the Match Pistol 2700 Aggregate. David Valintakonis took the top spot in both of those matches for .22 only with scores of 795-8X and 2,394-42X, respectively.
The CMP’s very own Brian Williams decided to trade the KTS iPad in for his gun and won the Garand Match with a score of 291-5X. Of course, he wasn’t finished – after that, Williams secured the top spot in the Modern Military Match with a score of 291-11X.
Another Brian who posted excellent scores and placed first in the Springfield and Three-Gun Aggregate was Brian Appel, posting scores of 291-9X and 855-16X, respectively. He also won all three days of the 800 Aggregate for Civilian Service Rifle, placing him third overall for the 2400 Overall Aggregate – just two points behind second place SSG Verne Conant of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU).
The winner of the 2400 Service Rifle Aggregate was PFC Amber Kingshill, USAMU, with a score of 2,373-111X. She was able to edge out Conant by just one point.
Kingshill reflected on her win and said, “We had a pretty rainy start to the 2400 Agg., but I was pleased it ended on such a nice day. Sitting back here at the 600 yard line, all I could tell myself was ‘target 11…target 11…target 11…’ and then just shot my match. So, it was cool to get a win out of it.”
Kingshill had a fair bit of hardware that needed to find room in her luggage for her trip back to Georgia.
The next CMP New England Games will be in September 2025. Keep your eyes peeled for the date announcement! Find full results and photos of the 2024 event as well as more information about the New England Games at https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/new-england-cmp-hp-rifle-cmp-games/.
CMP New England Games Results:
M9 EIC Pistol Match – John Desroches – 274-3X
M16 EIC Rifle Match – Paul Edwards – 366-4X
40 Shot Pistol Match – Nathan Zajac – 335-3X
CMP .22 Rimfire Pistol EIC Match – CW5 Lawrence Grace, ARNG – 270 – 5X
Pistol EIC Match – Nathan Zajac – 266-5X
EIC Service Revolver Match – Nathan Zajac – 328-1X
2-Man Pistol Team – Range 5-1, Nathan Zajac, CW5 Lawrence Grace, ARNG – 516-4X
.22 Rimfire 900 Aggregate – Nathan Zajac – 854-25X
Center Fire 900 Aggregate – TSgt Nicolas Poirier, ANG – 843-24X
.45 Pistol 900 Aggregate
- Any Sights- TSgt Nicolas Poirier, ANG – 851-24
- Metallic Sights – TSgt Christopher DeForge, USAF – 742-9X
- .22 Only- David Valintakonis – 795-8X
Match Pistol 2700 Aggregate
- Any Sights- Nathan Zajac – 2,522-73X
- Metallic Sights – TSgt Christopher DeForge, USAF – 2,240-29X
- .22 Only- David Valintakonis – 2,394-42X
CMP As- Issued 1911 Pistol- CW4 Cara Krauss, ARNG – 376-5X
Military & Police Service Pistol – CW4 Cara Krauss, ARNG – 376-14X
Overall Individual Pistol Aggregate – Nathan Zajac – 1,922-27X
Rimfire Sporter
- O-Class – Bruce Baroffio – 568-17X
- T-Class – Angela Benward -588-25X
Garand – Brian Williams 291-5X
Springfield – Brian Appel – 291-9X
Vintage Military – Gregory Hommel – 283-5X
Three Gun Aggregate – Brian Appel – 855-16X
Modern Military – Brian Williams – 291-11X
Four Gun Aggregate – Stephen Bukowsky -1,118 -16X
Unlimited Garand – John Desroches – 277-1X
Unlimited Modern Military – William Duthie – 287-12X
Carbine – James Sinclair – 369 -5X
Bruce D. Memorial Aggregate – James Sinclair – 1,195 -14X
Vintage Sniper Team – Lovers Quarrel- Ronald Leblanc, Holly Stowe- 390-14X
Mid-Range 3×600
- Service Rifle- SGT Forrest Greenwood, USA – 594-21X
- Match Rifle/Any Sights – Thomas Lowry – 591-31X
- AR Tactical – Matthew Morrissey – 592-28X
CMP 2-Man Team – USAMU Conant- SSG Verne Conant, USA, PFC Amber Kingshill, USA – 593-27X
CMP 800 Aggregate
Day 1
- Civilian Service – Brian Appel – 793-30X
- Military Service – SSG Verne Conant, USA – 794-41X
Day 2
- Civilian Service – Brian Appel – 788-31X
- Military Service – SSG Verne Conant, USA – 789-37X
Day 3
- Civilian Service – Brian Appel – 789-30X
- Military Service – PFC Amber Kingshill, USA – 791-42X
2400 Overall Aggregate – PFC Amber Kingshill, USA – 2,373 -111X
