Jamaica’s junior shooters have been on a roll recently by getting the better of their fancied seniors after taking the top two positions in the last two local sporting clays shooting tournaments.

They continued this good run at the 2019 US Open Sporting Clays which was held in Pennsville, New Jersey, at the M&M Hunting and Sporting clays venue.

Four juniors — Roman Tavares-Finson, Mark Desnoes, Chad Ziadie, and Jonathan Ralston ended the competition with numerous podium finishes. The seniors with podium finishes were Ricky DuQuesnay, Ryan Chen, and Dominic Simpson. A total of 26 shooters represented Jamaica in the competition.

Roman Tavares-Finson, who competed in B Class, won the US Open 200-bird (sporting clays) shoot which was held over three days. He shot 160 targets for first place ahead of Chad Ziadie, who was just one stroke behind on 159, to take second spot.

Ziadie, on the other hand, bagged 86 in the 5-Stand 100-bird to cop the third spot ahead of Tavares-Finson, who ended three birds behind on 83 to take fourth spot. Ziadie was atop the podium in the Fitasc 100-bird with a score of 80. Ziadie was adjudged the overall class champion.

Tavares-Finson won the Fitasc 50-bird section after picking off 38 birds. He also competed in the 12 G 100-bird where he came second with a score of 88 from 100. Tavares- Finson had the best individual score among the Jamaican shooters with his 160 in the 200-bird main event.

He was very pleased with his performance. “B Class up there is a pretty high class because they already have A and Masters, so by now I think I have been punched into A Class. It feels good because I think about two years ago I was stuck in D Class, coming second and it paid off.”

He compared what it is like to compete overseas to competing here at home when he said, “competing internationally shows you that what we are doing here in Jamaica is very small, but it is a growing sport and it’s on the rise, which I think is very good”.

Tavares-Finson commented on the performance of the Jamaicans by saying, “everybody did the best of their ability, and everybody performed and everybody did well. I know Chad (Ziadie) and Mark (Desnoes) did very well.”

Mark Desnoes competed in D Class and had several first-place finishes. He posted 150 for first place in the US Open 200-bird, 83 from 100 for first in 5-Stand, 78 for first in Super Sport 100-bird, 77 for first in Fitasc 100-bird, 32 for first in Fitasc 50-bird, 78 for second in 12G 100-bird and 64 for fifth place in Master Cup 100-bird. Desnoes was also declared the overall D Class champion.

The other junior to do well at the tournament was Jonathan Ralston, who ended with a second- and a fourth-place finish in C Class. He shot 80 in the 20G 100-bird to cop second position, and 72 in the Fitasc 100-bird to take fourth spot.

Senior shooter Ricky DuQuesnay competed in B Class where he came second in the Fitasc 100-bird with a score of 79. Chad Ziadie (junior shooter) took the top spot in the class. He shot 80.

Dominic Simpson copped the top spot in the 5-Stand 100-bird after picking off 81 birds in C Class. This he did ahead of Ryan Chen (75), who took fourth spot.

C Class shooter Ryan Chen was first in Fitasc 100-bird after posting 84. He was second in Master Cup 100-bird with a score of 74. Chen was fourth in 5-Stand 100-bird with a score of 75. He posted 142 in the US Open 200-bird for sixth place. Chen was declared the C Class champion.

National coach Khaleel Azan, who also competed in the tournament, said that the US Open Sporting Clays is the biggest shoot in that country where foreigners can compete for the top prizes in the various classes. Azan said that the shooters were faced with varying weather conditions during competition, ranging from rainy and cold to warm and favourable as time progressed. He was very pleased with the performance of the junior shooters.

The 2019 US Open Sporting Clays was held at the M&M Hunting and Sporting Clays venue, which is one of the few full-service clay shooting and hunting operations in the United States. It offers several hunting options, two sporting clays courses, a world-renowned shooting school, and an on-site hunting lodge. M&M’s 1,400 lush acres and convenient location in rural southern New Jersey make it the perfect facility for shooting competitions.