Simpson, McMaster top David East Mem Sporting Clays

The Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge began with a bang of a shotgun at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday at the picturesque Murphy Hill in St Ann overlooking the town of Ocho Rios.

It was not a typical day as the whole day was cool and cloudy with a little breeze. The weather did not hinder defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster from being repeat winners in the Driftwood Gun Club organised shoot. Both distanced themselves from the competition by posting scores that set them apart. Simpson was the only shooter to score in the 90s while McMaster was the only female to score in the 80s. Simpson scored 92 while McMaster scored 81 on a very challenging course.

Simpson had a perfect start on Station 9 by picking off all six birds on offer. His good fortune continued for the next 24 birds before dropping one on Station 14. In total, he picked off 92 targets out of a total of one hundred from seventeen stations on the looped course which moved from the flat to steep hilly terrain.

He was happy with his performance.

“It feels good. It feels good. It took everything I had today. I really put out everything and at the end of it I am always happy to come out with a favourable score,” Simpson said.

Three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso who tied with Simpson last year on 96 but lost by virtue of ‘long run’ tiebreaker did not have a good day on the course this time around. He shot 84. A Class shooter Geoffrey Ziadie copped the runner-up spot after posting 89 in the morning session.

PERFECT START

Fourteen-year-old top shooter McMaster, also had a perfect start on Station 12 though she lost two birds on the next station. Her scorecard showed several stations where she cleaned up all the targets. Her score of 81 was very good as no female had posted a score in the 80s for some time.

“Honestly, I am very proud of my score and I knew it could have been higher but I am very proud of myself,” she said.

The top three shooters in the various classes are: A Class: Bobby Chung 88, Shaun Barnes 87 and Damian Moe 86; B Class: Jeffrey Panton 85, Craig Davis 83 and Mark Benjamin 77; C Class: Damian Sawyers 83, Brandon Laing 82 and Paul Burke 81; D Class: Anthony Desnoes 81, Aliana McMaster 81 and Justin Samuda 81 – they were separated by ‘long run’; E Class: Nicklous Stewart 80, Noah Vaughn 70 and Neil McKenzie 69; Hunters or Beginners: Rory Wilson 74, Tara Brown 71 and Kashka Jones 69; Ladies: Aliana McMaster 81, Tara Brown 71 and Renee Rickhi 71 (long run); Juniors: Aliana McMaster 81, Zaniel Knight 74 and Noah Vaughn 70; and Sub Juniors: Lori Anne Harris 58 and Cameron Lee 29.