MORGAN THE MACHINE MAKES IT 3 IN A ROW

All the Winners

Fortunately, a rain-soaked Saturday gave way to a bright and sunny day at Northampton yesterday (Sunday 9^th) for the East Midlands Regional Skeet Championships. The targets were looking good for the 45 shooters with just a mild breeze travelling from right to left across the ranges encouraging many shooters to take the low bird on the centre pair, but in honesty either way looked comfortable.

Just after lunch the standard had been set by Stuart Smith of Suffolk with a superb ton, someone probably best known for his achievements in English Sporting, but no mean shot in English Skeet and a match for anyone on his day. But with plenty of well capable Northants shooters starting their journey along the ranges I for one felt that there was much more to come before this event came to an end, and so it proved.

Dave Morgan holder of the Senior Trophy for the last two years was in no mood to give his title up lightly dispatching clay after clay into balls of dust and it came as no great surprise that Dave completed his ton to force a shoot off with Stuart.

There was a third ton recorded by Henry Mitchell from Oxfordshire, his 19^th all told, but unfortunately for Henry he lived outside the region so could take no part in the shoot off, but an achievement that should be noted, nevertheless.

A 25 bird shoot off on layout 1 could not separate the pair, so it was on to the centre peg for alternate pairs and sudden death in which Stuart missed his eighth target to give Dave the title yet again.

(L-R) Neil Faulkner, Dave Morgan & Stuart Smith

A shoot off was also needed to settle a three-way tie in third overall, with Northants shooters Mick Russell, daughter Isabel and Neil Faulkner all tied on 99. Mick was eliminated on the 25 bird shoot off missing both low birds on peg 4, with both Neil and Isabel completing another 25 straight.

What was to follow was probably one of the best and most tense shoot offs I have ever witnessed in an East Midlands event as Isabel and Neil went toe to toe off the centre peg shooting alternate pairs and sudden death, and it took until Isabel’s 18^th target for Neil to finally overcome her resolve and then clear up his final four targets to give him third place overall.

(L-R) Helen Wootton, Isabel Russell & Melissa Smith

 Isabel did though console herself with the knowledge she had retained her title for another year in Ladies beating nearest finisher Helen Wootton from Northants winning her first East Midlands medal with a personal best of 93, and Melissa Smith from Suffolk in the bronze medal position with a score of 89.

Mick Russell’s disappointment at being eliminated in the shoot off was also tempered with the knowledge he had won the Vets Trophy for the first time, so it was down to Doug Moore from Lincolnshire and Pete Cook from Cambridgeshire in a shoot off to decide the silver and bronze placings. Unfortunately, Pete had a few issues with a gun malfunction that obviously distracted him, and he let a target slip by on the centre pair which was enough to give a faultless round by Doug the silver medal and Pete having to satisfy himself with bronze.

Top Photo (L-R) Pete Cook, Mick Russell & Doug Moore

Bottom Photo (L-R) Sonny Bowman, Archy Stannard & Matt Hall

As a Regional Secretary I’m always slightly concerned when Junior shooters come of age and make the big step up to Senior level and we lose an experienced and talented shooter from our Regional Skeet team, in the past we have been blessed with some superb young shooters and yet again it’s great to see the latest crop mature and develop, none more so than Archy Stannard from Norfolk who won his first Regional title with a score of 97 just one clay in front of Sonny Bowman from Northants who remarkably is still a Colt but has already tasted much success in the region. In third place and winning his first ever medal in the Region we had Matt Hall who is another Colt that rolls off the Nottinghamshire talent conveyer belt scoring 90 to give him bronze.

Finally, many thanks to Martine, Pete and Roy at Northampton SG for such an enjoyable day.

All the days scores - https://www.cpsa.co.uk/scores/fixture/english-skeet-northampton-shooting-ground-20190609/96205

Below - Isabel & Mick Russell