Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association

ORPA Junior Pistol Alumni Compete in Intercollegiate Pistol Championships

Three ORPA Junior Pistol Program alumni recently competed at the 2018 NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships in Fort Benning, Georgia. Robert Delagrange, Jessica Syme, and Brett Tucker all competed as athletes from their respective universities—Rob for the Ohio State University Pistol Team, Jessica as a student from Ashland University, and Brett as a member of the University of Akron’s Pistol Club. Coach Fred Totts was proud to support his three ‘kids’ during the match, as he served as the Coach for the University of Akron’s team. Nationals are held every spring, with qualifiers determined based upon scores shot at the Sectional Matches. This year, the dates were March 17th to the 20th.

Rob qualified in Free Pistol, finishing with a score of 452. Brett finished this event with a score of 480. Brett also fired as a member of the Akron Free Pistol team, which finished in 6th place. Brett shot the Men’s Sport Pistol event, winning the silver medal. Brett shot a 536 for Standard Pistol, shooting on the Akron team that finished in 5th place. Brett also competed in the Open Air event, shooting a 557 and qualifying for the Final. He finished the event in 6th place. The University of Akron pistol club claimed its first time on the podium in the program history, a third-place medal for the Open Air event. Jessica qualified for the Women’s Sport Pistol event, finishing in 11th place with a score of 523.

The competition concludes with an awards banquet to recognize the event winners and All-American athletes. Brett Tucker claimed two All-American honors. He was recognized as member of the Second Team for Standard Pistol, and Second Team for Air Pistol. The Ohio State University Pistol Team claimed the title of National Collegiate Pistol Team Champions, beating the US Coast Guard Academy (2nd) and the Citadel (3rd). The University of Akron, Coached by Totts, finished 5th in the overall team standings. During the awards ceremony, coaches and athletes that go above and beyond for Collegiate shooting sports are recognized. One of these awards is the “Spirit of the Sport” award. One collegiate athlete is recognized each year to receive this prestigious award in honor of Bill Wayda. The award states “Presented annually to the NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships participant who best exemplifies the ideals that make our sport what it is today. The honoree with possess compassion for fellow competitors, strength and knowledge in the sport, a passion to excel and a proven desire to share the sport we love with others.” Jessica was recognized as the Fifth Annual Winner of this award, presented in person by Bill Wayda and Tori Croft (the NRA's National Manager of Collegiate and School Programs).

All three of the ORPA Collegiate shooters are planning to compete this summer in NRA precision pistol competitions. Rob will compete as a member of the ORPA Junior Pistol Program, as he is completing his final season as a Junior. Brett and Jessica will continue to compete as collegiate shooters over the summer. All three will return to their respective universities to compete as collegiate pistol shooters in the fall, Jessica and Brett will be seniors and Rob a junior.

ORPA Junior Pistol 2018

Happy New Year 2018!  

The ORPA Junior Pistol program members are excited for a great start to the new year. The Juniors closed out 2017 at the Ohio Junior Olympic Regional Qualifier on December 2, 2017 at the University of Akron. Seven members competed in both air and sport pistol. Tyler Knouff shot a 469/600, winning the sport pistol event. He was followed by Grace Praisler with a score of 466. Mara Sidloski shot a 420, Reagan Phillips scored a 401, Amanda Ackerman shot a 335, and Hailey Donohue finished with a 285 for her first match. In Air Pistol, women shot 40 shots and men shot 60. Reagan scored highest among the ladies with a 338/400, followed by Grace with a 329. Amanda shot a 284, Mara scored a 257, and Hailey finished with a 220. Tyler shot a 435/600 for the men, followed by Ben Merendino with a 430.   Reagan automatically qualified for the Junior Olympics this spring at Colorado Springs, CO with her air pistol win and score. The other Juniors will wait for their results in the coming weeks to see if they qualified to compete as well. The Junior Olympics is an incredible opportunity.   Each spring, the match is held at the Olympic Training Center, offering qualifiers from across the nation the option to stay at the training center during the match. It is definitely an amazing week of shooting, exploring, and friendship for the qualifiers. During the weekend of January 13 and 14, 2018, the ORPA Juniors will travel north to Camp Perry to compete in the Camp Perry Open air match. The competition includes two sixty-shot air matches (one fired each day) as well as finals and super-finals.   Stay tuned to Gunsmoke and the ORPA Website for future results from this match, and others yet to come!

2017 Junior Pistol Team Photos

Here's the 2017 Junior Pistol team!

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Rob, Cody, Jessica, Mason, Grace and Coach Totts on the range at Camp Perry.

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 Jessica, Coach and Rob, during team matches.

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Award night: Mason, Cody, Rob, Jessica, Grace, Coach Totts

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Grace, Rob and Jessica

Junior Pistol 2017

Greetings and salutations from the ORPA Junior Pistol Team! Bullseye pistol season is in full swing, and we are excited to report the results of our last two matches. The Juniors, coached by Fred Totts, headed north to Oak Harbor for the State Indoor Match in April. Four of the Juniors shot: Cody Poole, Mason Poole, Grace Praisler, and Jessica Syme. The match was an 1800 (.22 and .45). Cody Poole finished with a score of 1562. Mason shot a 1013 and Jessica scored a 1474. Grace shot the match as .22 only, shooting a 1456. This match provided a fun entry back into the world of .45s, as grinning faces remarked “That is not an air pistol!” Fortunately, the Juniors were soon able to head outside at the Canton McKinley Rifle and Pistol Range.
On June 4th, the Juniors competed in their first Bullseye outdoor match of the season. Despite the rain showers, all performed well. Rob Delagrange shot a 2202-25x. Cody Poole finished as First Sharpshooter with a score of 2315-26x. Mason Poole scored a 1662-10x. Grace Praisler finished with a 1990-14x. Jessica Syme shot a 2018-35x, unfortunately having to leave the line early during .45 due to a scope problem. Reagan Phillips, a new member of the Junior team, shot her first Bullseye match as a .22 only. She scored a 677-5x for her .22, and is looking forward to more matches in the future! ORPA Collegiate Brett Tucker also competed in June, shooting a 2244-36x.
The ORPA Junior Pistol Team is looking forward to the Regional Matches held at Canton McKinley Rifle and Pistol Club July 7th-9th. After Regionals, we will trek north to the NRA National Bullseye Pistol Championships, held at Camp Perry. Rob, Cody, Mason, Grace, and Jessica will all be shooting during Nationals and are excited for the opportunity to defend their title as the reigning Junior Team Champions. Stay tuned for results!
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