2009 RI Sectional Roundup
By Digby Hand
The Massasoit Gun Club hosted a trio of National Rifle Association National Indoor Smallbore Rifle Championship sectionals during the grayest days of this winter. Starting on the last weekend in January competitors converged on the clubs’ facilities in Riverside to contest the NRA International Championship, a grueling 120 shot, three position, metallic sight match, on the demanding international target.
Master Erik Hoskins posted a match winning 398-36X prone followed by expert Brad Driscoll’s 395-21X. Brian Jylkka led the sharpshooters with a 397-27X and Meg Polonsky topped the marksman class with a 394-24X.
Moving to the standing position Driscoll made a move on Hoskins by shooting a 368-8X to close the aggregate gap by one point as Hoskins carded a 366-11X. Marksman Catherine Green made her move with a 365-8X score as Adam Auclair’s 357-5X topped the sharpshooter class.
With Hoskins and Driscoll neck and neck it came down to the kneeling match where Hoskins held onto his slim lead until the third target. Driscoll pulled ahead by two points and tacked on a third on the final card to give him Expert honors with a 382-13X and the aggregate with an 1145-42X. Hoskins took master honors while Green trimmed the marksman with a 374-10X and Jylkka won the kneeling match with a 388-19X.
In the end Driscoll had tallied his second international win in as many years. Green was marksman class champion with an 1126-37X and Auclair’s consistent performance across the board gave him the sharpshooter class title.
Relatively unnoticed during the match was Hap Rocketto, who was celebrating his 62nd birthday and 48th year of competitive shooting that day. Taking advantage of the fact that he was in the senior category, he was old enough to be either the father or grandfather to every other competitor on the line, he quietly established-pending confirmation from the NRA- three National Records in, what he flippantly referred to as, the Geezer Category.
The Hudson Junior Gold team of Driscoll, Jylkka, Polonsky, and Auclair hammered the competition with a 4502-166X to win the team match.
A few weeks later many of the usual suspects again unloaded their equipment at Massasoit for the NRA Three Position Sectional, the same course of fire and target as the international match, but with any sights allowed.
Quaker Hill Rod and Gun Club’s Jennifer Sloan quickly took the lead with a 397-32X match winning score prone. Hot on her heels was Hopkinton’s Dan Holmes with a 397-26X for Expert honors. Rocketto was high master, Quaker Hill rifleman Mark Wujtewicz was top sharpshooter and another Quaker Hill shooter, Steve Monroe was the best Marksman.
Holmes put his mark on the match with an excellent 374-12X standing, outdistancing the next competitor by nearly 20 points and putting him well into the lead. Rocketto again was top Master while Smithfield’s Don Norris was the best expert with a 359-5X. Joe Graf, a team mate of Norris, was the best shooting sharpshooter while Monroe again led the marksman.
Rocketto won the kneeling match with a 385-14X but it was too little and too late to stop Holmes who, even with a sub par kneeling, took the aggregate. Bob Lynn, of New Hampshire, posted a 383-15X to top the experts Graff was high sharpshooter with Monroe again the leading marksman.
In the end Holmes won the sectional title, gold medal, and probably a leg on Distinguished, convincingly by shooting an 1149-49X. Rocketto was high master with an 1137-54X, Lynn’s 1128-52X took the expert class, Graf had a 1068-40X for sharpshooter laurels and Monroe was high marksman.
The Digby Hand Schützenverein Team of Graf, Norris, Lynn, and Holmes won the team match.
The ventilators had barely cleared the smoke from the range when a week later it was again filled by many of the familiar faces from the last matches, now set to shoot an 80 shot four position match on the A-17 ‘bucket bull.’
Lynn got off to a fast start with an excellent 200-20X, as did three other competitors, only his had a higher number of “center shots of higher value”, perfect bull’s eyes, than the rest. Sarah, Downing, a nursing student at Salve Regina, saw her near perfect 200-20X relegated to winning the expert class.
Moving to the standing position Rocketto managed to outpace Lynn and Norris, who both posted excellent 191s, by shooting a 195. Norris had to settle for first expert on a tie breaker to Lynn.
On a roll, Rocketto took advantage of his many years of high power experience as he and Norris engaged in a sitting duel. Both posted 200s but the fire hydrant shaped Rocketto used his physique to take advantage of the long and lanky Norris: shooting 19 center shots to win the match.
With the match on the line Lynn shot a pair of 99s kneeling to win that position. Rocketto posted a 197 as did Norris. The scores were quickly added and results posted indicating that Rocketto’s standing gave him just enough cushion he needed to win the aggregate with a 792-62X to Lynn’s 788-53X, and Norris’ 787-51X.
The match was ably administered by Match Director Nicole Panko, assisted by daughter Allyssa, and range master Brad Ellsworth. The competitors from all three matches commented favorably on the quality of the Massasoit facilities and look forward to competing there again in the future.
