Or, as Joe Pesci would say, "Year of the Yutes" (a My Cousin Vinny reference, watch the movie...it is funny). The 2020 Indiana State Sporting Clays Championship presented by Stifel Financial and hosted at Indiana Gun Club by Fall Creek Sporting Clays was a complete success. We had a tremendous four day championship last week with great weather, challenging targets, good food, and a chance to spend time with our sporting clay friends from around the state and beyond.
Several side events kicked off on Thursday and nearly 60 shooters got a head start on the weekend warming up on those. Friday dawned bright and warm making the 100 bird prelim, the Kolter Cup, a real joy to shoot. Until, that is, you got to Stations 8 and 9 which proved to be a bit difficult for many. But there were some great performances as Mark Hall and Bryan Wright tied with a score of 96 with Hall taking the HOA honors in a shoot off.
Saturday brought the first half of this year's Main event and the beginning of the youth movement. Mark Hall held the Day 1 lead with a very nicely shot 95 but youngsters Dalton Oliver with a 94 and Reagan Harding with 90 were there to keep the pressure on. And on the Ladies side of things, Ashleigh Alexander and Cali Whitwell, both young ladies who hail from Tennessee, broke 88 and 82 clays respectively to lead as Saturday wrapped up. The Indiana Resident Lady leader after Day 1 was Starla Goldman. One of the big stories on Saturday was the performance of Andrew Watson, another young SCTP shooter competing in his very first registered NCSA shoot. Young Mr. Watson broke a very impressive 87 targets on Saturday and he was just getting started.
The final 100 birds of the Main were targeted on Sunday which turned out to be the warmest (ok, hottest) of the four days with temperatures in the low 90s and a heat index of just over 100. And no breeze! But that didn't stop the youth movement from putting their mark on this championship. Oliver dusted another 94 birds to just edge out Hall (92/187) with a total of
188 to take the HOA honors. And Harding busted 94 as well for a two day total of 184 and the Indiana State Championship cup. Tricia McNutt had a really strong outing and passed Goldman for the Indiana Lady honors breaking 82 clays for a two day total of 153, while Ashleigh Alexander took the Lady HOA title with a two day total of 183. What about that other youngster, Andrew Watson, you ask? He calmly broke another 83 targets for a total of 170 to win his class. And let's not forgot another talented young man, Hayden Fisher, who shot a two day total of 176 to take the Sub Junior title, nudging out... you guessed it, Andrew Watson.
One of the highlights of the 2020 championship was the inaugural Bob Self Small Guage Award. Bob, who was a dear friend and mentor to all, passed away unexpectedly this past April. He was a very talented small gauge shooter and this award was created to honor his memory for many years to come. Kevin Parrott claimed the Bob Self Award with a three event (20, 28, and 410) total of 143 out of a possible 150. Very impressive and well done!
Here are some of the other event winners for the 2020 State Championship:
Five Stand - Cyrus Alexander - 48
FITASC - Brantley Whitwell - 48
50 Bird/12 ga. - Tom Hendrix - 48
Super Sporting - Mark Litz - 50 (beat Eric Kaiser in a shoot off)
True Pair - Paul Wright - 48
You can find all of the results and see how your favorite shooter scored at https://bit.ly/2XccWXR.
We must not forget to say thank you to Austin Smith of Fairway Independent Mortgage for sponsoring the delicious Shooter Appreciation Dinner served by Dave and Celeste Burcham of Artisano's Oils & Spices in Indianapolis and to Corey Johnston, proprietor of Blend Bar with Davidoff Cigars for providing cigars and a very nice pre-dinner bourbon tasting.
And a final thank you with great appreciation to Mike Perryman who stepped down after serving six years as President of the ISCA and played a giant role in shaping our association with the help of dozens of others. We'll miss your energy and dedication to the sport, Mike. The good news for all of us is that he is still around if we need advice. And the good news for him is that he can get back to shooting more regularly.
We look forward to seeing you next year at Indiana Creek Shooting Center in Georgetown, Indiana for the 2021 Indiana State Championship.
