Litz Dominates 2009 Spirit of America Match
Well I guess we’re all going to have to read Bryan’s book now…. Over the past few days in Raton (NM), Bryan Litz, author of Applied Ballistics for Long-Range Shooting, proved he has the trigger-pulling skills to match his technical knowledge. At the 2009 Spirit of America Nat’l Fullbore Prone Championship, Bryan put on a clinic, winning most of the individual fullbore matches, and leading his “Palma Red” Team to victory in the Cunico Team Match, Folsom Team Match, Sierra Team Match, and Galaxy Team Match. The “Palma Red” Team was ably coached by Steve Cunico. Bryan’s fellow “Palma Red” shooters on the team were David Crandall, Trudie Fay, and Noma Mayo, all of whom shot great. Congratulations to Coach Cunico, Bryan, and all the Palma Red team members.
Bryan Litz also lead the pack in all the individual Aggregate standings — Short Agg, Long Agg, and Grand Agg (1793-121X). Finishing second in Individual Grand Agg was Mitchell Maxberry (1788-108X), and Nancy Tompkins took third (1787-112X). Charles Ballard (2008 F-Class Nat’l Champ) was the overall top shooter in F-Class with a 1775-94X. Second-place finisher Danny Biggs (1770-83X) edged Larry Batholome (1769-103X) by one point, but Larry had the high X-count among F-Classers. Keep in mind that F-Class targets have smaller scoring rings than the full-bore targets.
There must be some good info in Bryan’s Ballistics book, because Bryan seemed to have an edge over all the other shooters at the SOA this year. Litz started strong and stayed strong throughout the week, winning three of four individual events. USAR Shooter Russel Theurer captured the Sinclair Int’l Individual Match with a strong 449-24X performance. Russ observed: “It’s interesting to see that every day’s Match was won with the Berger 155.5 bullet”. Complete results of the 2009 SOA can be found on the Bald Eagles Rifle Club website. Here are rankings from the individual events:
McGee Individual Match
Bryan Litz, 450-30X | Nancy Tompkins, 447-29X | Mitchell Maxberry, 446-27X
U.S. Air Force Individual Match
Bryan Litz, 449-31X | Trudie Fay, 449-25X | Michelle Gallagher, 448-28X
Sinclair Individual Match
Russel Theurer, 449-24X | David Crandall, 448-33X | Mitchell Maxberry, 448-26X
Sierra Bullets Individual Match
Bryan Litz, 448-30X | Michelle Gallager, 448-29X | Mark Andrew, 447-21X
SOA Grand Aggregate (Individual)
Bryan Litz, 1793-121X | Mitchell Maxberry, 1788-108X | Nancy Tompkins, 1787-112X
Praise for Bald Eagles Club
Bryan Litz had high praise for the folks who run the Spirit of America Match: “The Bald Eagles do a great job running a safe and efficient National Championship. There is an extraordinary amount of experience and common sense at work…. In my opinion, they’re a shining example of how things should be done. One example is squading the relays according to standings. I believe it makes for a more fair contest. If you enjoy midrange and long range shooting, then I highly recommend making the trip to Raton for the Spirit of America match next year. The range is beautiful, people are friendly, and you’ll get plenty of team and individual shooting in the 7 days.”
Bryan, Congratulations of your win. Best wishes — Barry(UK)
Bryan, Congratulations on your great shooting. We are very proud of you.
Love, Dad,Patty,Jennifer,Gram & Pap Litz and Uncle Ed
How about a note for the coach of US Palma Red. Steve Cunico???
Bryan shot well in the team matches, but it was the coach who led them to victory.
Editor: For those who don’t know Emil Praslick is widely regarded as one of the very best long-range coaches in the world. He has coached USAMU and Team USA squads. Emil is correct that Steve Cunico should be recognized, so I’ve edited the article to do so.
It’s worth noting, however, that Bryan Litz did have the highest score among Palma Red shooters in 2 of 4 team matches (and tied for highest in a third), and he finished with the highest score on his team for the 4 matches. In the Folsom Team match, Noma Mayo didn’t drop a point, shooting a 400-23X, which was the highest score among all shooters at the event.
According to the results the winner of the Sinclair Indvidual Match was USAR shooter SFC Russ Theurer with a 449-24X.
Congratulations to Byran winning 3 of the 4 individual matches!
However, the Sinclair Individual Match was won by Russel Theurer followed by David Crandall in second and Mitchell Maxberry in third. First and second were Master shooters, so not on the top of the page…
Congratulations Russ!
The International Convention for the Chairing Ceremony is 12 or more people, about 3 on each leg or someone is going to get hurt.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/762_photo/3784211865/in/set-72157616985633817/
Of course; you really need a full military band and a gallery.
ps, them Tompkins-Gallaghers pop-up everywhere.
Congratulations to all. AK
Thanks for your comments everyone!
I don’t consider my scores shot in the team matches to be my personal property. The support of the other shooters on the team, and especially the coaching make up the total score, and that’s what’s important: maximizing the score of the team. Each shooter only contributes 1/4 to the total, but the coach is there for EVERY shot. Steve did a tremendous job keeping us in the center.
A well known and respected coach once said: “… If your sole objective of shooting in a team match is to be the high shooter on your 4 man squad, or the ‘star’ of the 8 man team, then you’re an idiot”. (betch’a can’t tell who said that;^) “The point isn’t to beat your team-mates, but to help each other maximize the teams’ total score, even if it means personal sacrifice”. This is the attitude I’ve adopted in team matches, and is why I give little regard to my individual score in team matches.
I’m looking forward to more team shooting. The camaraderie is great and it’s an opportunity to learn from other more experienced shooters.
Thanks again everyone!
-Bryan
Bryan,
Congradulations, I’m proud to say you were my mentor and I know you.
Godspeed,
Dale.
Bryan, Congradulations,on your three outstanding matches, it is so exciting having a champion and a great guy like you as part of our family