Abbate and Michel Win USPSA Titles
The 2009 U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Nationals were held Sept. 11-19 at the Desert Sportsman’s Rifle & Pistol Club outside Las Vegas, NV. The event drew more than 620 top shooters from across the country and around the world.
Abbate Wins Both Production and Limited Titles
Glock shooter Jessie Abbate won dual national women’s titles at the 2009 USPSA National Handgun Championships. This year Abbate claimed both the Production and Limited division championships. In 2008 she was crowned the Limited and Limited-10 champion.
In the Production division, Abbate took top honors among lady shooters posting a final score of 1097.9378, outpacing runner-up and Julie Goloski-Golob by more than 111 points. Abbate’s score was also good enough to finish 37th overall among all shooters, male and female. In the Limited division, Jessie again put on an impressive display shooting a score of 1050.2892 and finishing over 114 points ahead of Team SVI shooter Lisa Munson, who came in second with 935.3943.
Max Michel Wins Open Division in Tight Race
Just over 11 points separated the top three shooters in the battle for the coveted Open Title at the USPSA National Championships but it was Max Michel who took home the crown.
Heading into the final stages, three ace shooters had a chance to win: Max Michel, K.C. Eusebio, and J.J. Racaza. In the end it was Michel who emerged on top. Max had the best time on 4 of the 16 stages on his way to winning the USPSA Open Title. “Max is one of the top shooters in the sport and a threat to win any match he enters,” observed Michael Voigt, USPSA president. “He faced intense competition this year from both K.C. and J.J. but was able to pull out the win.” Michel’s victory cemented his reputation as one of the top action shooters in the world. His “shooting bio” now includes two World Speed Shooting Championships (2007 and 2005), five USPSA National Championships (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004) and nearly 30 USPSA Area Championships. In May 2009, Max completed his U.S. Army service. Leaving the USAMU team, Max is now Sig Sauer’s Manager of Competitive Shooting Activities. In the video below, created while Michel served with the USAMU, Max explains how to shoot on the move:
