Air Force shooters score well at national pistol championships

  • Published
  • By Randy Roughton
  • Defense Media Activity-San Antonio
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AFNS) --  Col. Mark Hays won the General Twining Trophy and Lt. Col. Thomas Reardon captured the General Curtis LeMay Trophy for the second consecutive year to lead the Air Force National Pistol Shooting Team at the 2010 Pistol and Rifle Championships at Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio.

The team placed second in the Four-Member Team Aggregate and .22 Caliber Team championships and third in the Center Fire Team Championship expert competitions.

The General Twining Trophy is given to the highest overall regular Air Force score in the National Pistol Championship. The General LeMay Trophy is awarded to the highest Air Force score in the National Trophy Individual Pistol Match.

Colonel Hays from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., also won the General Carl Spaatz Trophy for the highest Air Force score in the National Trophy Pistol Team Match and finished 19th among master's competitors in the National Pistol Championship.

Colonel Reardon, deputy commander of the 97th Operations Group at Altus AFB, Okla., and team captain Col. Mark Teskey placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the expert division. Colonel Reardon won the .45 Caliber Rapid Fire Match, finished second in the .22 Caliber Timed Fire and Slow Fire matches and the .22 Caliber National Match Course, and third in the Center Fire (.45 caliber) Rapid Fire Match. He also had top 10 finishes in the .45 Caliber National Match and .45 Caliber Championships.

Colonel Teskey, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations staff judge advocate at Andrews AFB, Md., placed third in .45 Caliber Rapid Fire, fourth in .22 Caliber Timed Fire and Center Fire Rapid Fire, and fifth in the .22 Caliber Championships and .45 Caliber National Match. He also finished in the top 10 in four other events.

Master Sgt. Paul Noblit took first place in two sharpshooter division events to finish fifth overall and Tech. Sgt. Brendan McGloin ended the tournament ninth among marksmen competitors. Sergeant Noblit, from Tyndall AFB, Fla., won the .22 Caliber and .45 Caliber championships and placed second in .22 Caliber Timed Fire, Slow Fire and National Match Course, and third in Center Fire Rapid Fire. Sergeant McGloin of Lackland AFB, Texas, finished in the top 10 in seven events.

Lt. Col. Adam Nyenhuis of the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., had five top-10 efforts, including a second-place finish in .45 Caliber Slow Fire. Col. David McCormick, stationed at the Pentagon, placed sixth in the master's division of the .45 Caliber Timed Fire competition.

The competition, which is known as "The World Series of the Shooting Sports," is conducted by members of the National Rifle Association and Civilian Marksmanship Program with assistance from the Ohio National Guard. The championships continue with the Smallbore Rifle Position competition from July 21 to 24 and concludes with the Long-Range Rifle Championships Aug. 14 to 17.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.nrahq.org/compete.