Nevada ATA Delegate Report!
SEPTEMBER 2023 REPORT CHECKIN!
There is a lot going on out West. As this is being written in late September, pre-squad numbers for the championship events for the 75th Nevada State Shoot exceed 600 entries. As such, the competition factor for awarding All American Points will increase from 3 to 4. That is a huge accomplishment and the result of a ton of hard work by the NSTA Board. Kudos! A full report on the 2000 plus target state shoot will be published in a future edition of Trap and Field. It will be epic and not to be missed.
40 Plus shooters lined up for the Annual Fall Handicap, a 500 target all caps event held over two days on September 23-24 at the Clark County Shooting Complex. Event 1 started under dark, windy conditions. Arizona resident Darrell Goen and Nevada Jr. shooter Luchi Kern shared high honors with a 93. Darrell’s score got him punched to the 27 yard line for the first time. Congrats Darrell! Luchi got punched to the 22 yard line. In Event 2, Alex Oppenheim and Kern both posted very fine 97’s to share top honors. Alex got a punch to the 21 and Luchi’s second punch in two events put her back to the 23 yard line. Nice shooting by two fine young shooters. Saturday’s final event saw 27 yard Senior Vet Charles Storm Jr. and Vegas local Sam Ford post 93’s for the top score. Again, dark and windy conditions were the rule.
On Sunday, conditions were much improved with lots of sunshine and light to no winds. In Event 4, Vegas Jr. Austin X. Santellan and Leticia Slinker each hit a 97 to share the high score. Santellan was punched to the 21.5 and Slinker continued her fine post Grand shooting and stepped back to the 25. In Event 5, Oppenheim posted a 95 to top all shooters, followed closely by Charles Storm IV, Jeff White, Lisa Burcalow and Murray Dominguez, all shooting 94. Oppenheim won the High Overall with a 466, concluding 2 days of consistent shooting. Storm Jr. was the SV champ, Grant Smith won the Jr. category, Slinker was the top Lady, and White won a two round shoot off over Don Mayall for Subvet honors. A complete shoot report can be found on the Shoot Scoreboard web site.
Jr. shooter Orion Cooper deserves a bit of recognition. He got punched to the 26 yd line on September 10th, shooting a 96 in a caps event at Redlands. He has moved rapidly towards the back fence over the course of the last 30 days or so and is on the Sub-Junior All American Team for 2023. He is a steady, determined competitor and may be on the 27 yard line by the time this is published. Congrats to Orion and his supportive family for his success and achieving All American status. Orion is now sponsored by a well known recoil device/stock company who saw his talent and dedication while fitting him for a stock. Orion’s dad Robert, his biggest supporter, indicated to me that they intend to hit the road this year in an effort to get on the 2024 AA Jr. Team. I have no doubt that Orion has all the talent and support he needs to achieve his goals in the coming years, including fulfilling his desire to get a scholarship to a University to shoot on an NCAA team. Big things coming!
Last note. I became Delegate 3 years ago. As a firm believer in not staying too long, I decided not to run again for re-election. There will be a new delegate from Nevada elected during the October State shoot. I’ve appreciated the support of the NSTA board and the Nevada shooters and know that the new delegate will continue to work on behalf of the sport and the shooters in this state.
Regards,
Russell Roberts, ATA NV Delegate
