I had the privilege to attend and compete in this championship match last weekend in El Paso. It was great to again spend some time with my fellow shooters from my old hometown, say hello to friends from other parts of the country and to again hook-up with an old friend from Austin, whom I had not seen in 17 years! It was great seeing you again, Rick. I hope you had a safe drive home and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
A really big THANK YOU and a JOB WELL DONE goes out to Tony Lopez, and his immediate family, and all the El Paso shooters who made the event possible. To reconstruct the range at Fort Bliss was amonumental effort. To do it in less than one month was really impressive.
Hunter Class was carried-out on Saturday, with Match 1 starting at 9:30 and Match 2 starting at 1:00 PM. The weather was near perfect and Houston's Bill Zander won the State Championship with a score of 56/80.
Standard Class was held on Sunday, with Match 1 starting at 9:00 AM and Match 2 at 1:00 PM. The weather was nice in the morning shoot, then the heat and humidity built up during the afternoon match, followed by wind and rain. We still managed to finish the match and shoot-offs before getting soaked.
Tony Lopez, who already has a couple of National Championships under his belt won the State Championship with a score of 68/80.
Tony managed to pull it off after rebuilding the range, having to fend-off efforts by others to sabotage the event, coordinating and overseeing the event. The true mark of a Champion.
Again, many thanks to all of you in El Paso. We'll see you again soon.
Joaquin Bustamante, AKA:
