The 2010 International Three Position Sectional
by Digby Hand
RHODE ISLAND—The 2010 NRA Indoor Championship season got underway with the International Championship Sectional fired at the Massasoit Gun Club on January 10 and 11. Many things have changed in the smallbore discipline in the past few years and this year would be no exception as the old A36 target was replaced by the new tougher USA/NRA target in all indoor championship competition. As a result it is believed that all of the NRA International and Three Position records will be retired along with the venerable target.
The prone match gave all the competitors an opportunity to ease themselves into the new target. Estimating scores is a bit more of a challenge because the center dot pretty much has to be obliterated for a shot to count as a ten. There is no longer any thought of close enough being good enough. The difference in the targets was readily apparent when only two targets out of the 72 prone cards were scored as 100s. Brian Jylkka took the match with an outstanding 397X400, two points ahead of Erik Hoskin’s 395, and five points ahead of Hudson teammate Brad Driscoll’s 392. There was a real horse race going on between Megan Polonsky, Kerri Lewis, and seniors Bob Lynn and Hap Rocketto with the first two posting 387s to the latter’s 386s. Newport Rifle Club’s Danielle Makucevich was a runaway winner among the marksman with a 380 to second place Mike Metivier’s 373.
While matches are lost in prone they are won standing and Jylkka rolled on with a 363X400. He built on his lead by outpointing his NH teammate Driscoll by three as Hoskins faltered. Polonsky won her class by 29 points and kept herself in the race with a 361. Marksman Anthony “Too Tall” Squeglia jumped into the lead in his class with a 347 well ahead of second place Metivier who shot a 330.
With just 40 shots kneeling left it was Jylkka’s match to win or lose as he held an eight point lead over Driscoll, 12 points over Polonsky, and 40 over Hoskins. At the end of the first card Jylkka, Driscoll, and Hoskins all carded 92s and with Polonsky having a 91 there was no real change on the leader board. That would change dramatically as the bottom dropped out of Jylkka’s grocery bag when he could only muster an 88 to Driscoll’s 96, Hoskins, 93, and Polonsky’s 89. In a flash he gave up his hard earned lead and was tied with Driscoll. On the third target Jylkka came back and picked up a point on Driscoll while Hoskins and Polonsky kept their positions.
With ten shots to go the pressure was intense between the two New Hampshire juniors for the gold and Hoskins and Polonsky for the bronze. In the end Driscoll, who has won the previous two International Sectionals at Massasoit, pulled out a third consecutive victory with a 94 for a kneeling match winning score of 375 to Jylkka’s 364 that gave him a three point lead in the aggregate: a 1127 to 1124. Hoskins never shot lower than a 92 kneeling and handily outpointed Polonsky in that position for the bronze: 1112 to 1105. Kerry Lewis quietly took kneeling honors in her class with a 366 while Squeglia was top marksman with a 357 and Makucevich was second with a 436.
In the aggregate it was Driscoll, a stalwart of the University of Sciences rifle team, who pulled off a hat trick for his third consecutive gold, Jylkka was the silver medalist, and Hoskins took bronze. Polonsky was combined class winner while Squeglia stood tall over the marksman with Metivier coming in second.
Hudson Gold ran away with the team match. Jylkka, Driscoll, Polonsky, and Squeglia having a 4432 to distant second place Digby Hand’s, Hoskins, Rocketto, Lynn, and Joe Graf, 4251. Hudson Silver, David Jarry, Matt Murphy, Kyle Letendre, and Zach Wambsganss, were third.
If the new target does, indeed, mean new records then Driscoll will be in line for Open, Civilian, Collegiate, and Junior honors, Polonsky and Lewis for Women, and there ought to be some intermediate junior and sub junior records also established.
Flying below the radar was the battle fought between Lynn and Rocketto for both National Records and the newly introduced national senior trophy plaque. Both seniors, Lynn just slipping in under the wire while Rocketto has been cashing Social Security checks for some time, noted that they were old enough to be either the father or grandfather of every other competitor at the match. In the end Rocketto crept ahead of Lynn1078 to 1062 on the strength of his standing score. There is irony in the situation as Rocketto holds the current senior records in the discipline, if records are awarded and he prevails, he will hold the same records but with aslightly lower scores.
While many suffered a drop in score, not to be confused with performance, Driscoll, Jylkka, Polonsky, Squeglia, and Letendre, who leapt up a stunning 100 points over last year, all posted higher scores on the tougher target.
The match was ably run by Nicole Panko with the assistance of Brad Ellsworth who was the range officer and Allyssa Mahan as Statistical Director. The competitors wish to thank Massasoit for their continued hospitality and use of their facilities.
