AFTER a brilliant display of shooting skills on Saturday’s first day, Richard Azan Jr followed up with another explosive performance to claim the ACDelco National Shotgun Sporting Clays Championship on Sunday.

The 21-year-old, who shot 86 on Saturday, went two targets better to top the over 100 competitors in clear conditions at the Knolford Polo Ranch in St Catherine on Sunday. He took down 88 of his 100 targets, and an additional 15 out of 25 in the Super-6 shoot-off to end with an overall tally of 189.

Craig Simpson, who shot 85 on both days, finished second after taking down 17 targets in the Super-6 for an overall tally of 187, with Christian Sasso (186) placing third. Nicholas Chen (184), Ian Banks (181) and veteran Errol Ziadie (176) completed the top six.

The 14-station course was cleverly set by international course setter and marksman Gary Bloom, which kept the shooters focused. The competitors had to literally keep their eyes on the targets and read each bird cautiously and with ideal timing. Azan Jr, delighted by the win, told the Jamaica Observer that his approach was to keep the momentum going after a smooth start at the first six stations.

“It feels really amazing to finally win this phase of the tournament, especially after winning the All-Jamaica Skeet last year. So, to me, growing up those were always the big two, and now I have the double,” said the son of well-known racehorse trainer Richard Azan. “Naturally if you don’t read the birds well you can’t hit them well, and that added a little drama for us to put on a show for the fans. But, after seeing the course that was set on Saturday, and the cleverness behind the different layouts of the targets, I was able to come more mentally focused today (Sunday) and attack the birds,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sasso, who topped the A class ahead of Chen and Banks, will for the first time be crowned overall National champion, dethroning four-time winner Shaun Barnes.

“It feels really great to win my first championship, because Shaun has been four-time champion, so it is always good to take him down. But he is a competitor and a friend; unfortunately he didn’t do too well this season, but I know he will be very competitive next season to reclaim his title,” said Sasso added that he will be working even harder to continue his rich vein of form come next year.

Marc Barnes (150) had to get the better of Thomas Smith (150) in a shoot-off for the top spot in B class, while Jeffrey Panton (148) was third.

Ray McMaster (147) finished tops in the C class, followed by Peter Mahfood (146), and Howard McKenzie (145). The D class was topped by Simon Khouri (137), ahead of Andrew Dunbar (130) and Matthew Josephs (128).

Andrew Dunbar Jr (122), Garth Pearce (121) and Mark Desnoes (117) were the top three finishers in the E class. Desnoes was also the runner-up in the Sub-junior class, which was won by Josephs.

Despite shooting a disappointing 75 on day one, Brandon Reid ended with an overall score of 157 to top the junior category, with Mahfood and Jake Therrien (144) taking the runners-up spots. Alysia Evans (87) easily took the Ladies category ahead of Marguerite Harris (62), while Najeeb Haber Jr (125) topped the Hunters class ahead of Marlon King (107) and Jason Watt (96).

The official awards ceremony will be held today at 7:00 pm at Jade Gardens, Sovereign Centre.