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Smith & Wesson’s Bagakis Takes Area 2 Revolver Title at USPSA Handgun Championship

Smith & Wesson’s John Bagakis

U.S. Practical Shooting Association

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. —-(AmmoLand.com)- Team Smith & Wesson’s John Bagakis of Livermore, Calif. claimed the Revolver division title at the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s Area 2 Regional Handgun Championships.

Bagakis, who is ranked a Grand Master, the highest skill level in the sport of Practical Shooting, dominated the field by winning all eleven stages for a final score of 1470. He outpaced his nearest competitor, Pat Hogue of Atascadero, Calif., by just over 302 match points. Hogue finished second in the match with a score of 1167.7836.

“John is one of the rising stars in the Revolver division as evidenced but his Area 2 win, and with the support of Smith & Wesson I think it’s safe to say John will continue to be a threat in revolver competitions,” said Dave Thomas, executive director of the U.S. Practical Shooting Association.

Rounding out the top five were Dan Furbee of Apache Junction, Ariz. in third with a score of 1099.8699, John Rodriguez of Hurley, N.M. in fourth with 1092.5206 and Team Smith & Wesson member Annette Aysen of Thibodaux, La. taking fifth shooting 1064.2603.

The match, which was held November 12-15 at the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa, Ariz., drew a total of 355 shooters who put a combined 100,000-plus rounds down range competing for regional championship titles in the Open, Limited, Limited-10, Production, Revolver and Single Stack divisions.

The USPSA Area 2 region includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and New Mexico but shooters from around the country attended.

About USPSA:
The United States Practical Shooting Association is a non-profit membership association and the governing body for the sport of Practical Shooting in America. USPSA has nearly 18,000 members and more than 350 affiliated clubs which host weekly matches throughout the country providing recreational shooters with the opportunity to test and refine their shooting skills in a safe, competitive environment. USPSA is also the US Region of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), which is comprised of approximately 67 nations. For more information, visit www.uspsa.org.

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Leatham Duo Brings Home Winning  Titles For Springfield Armory at USPSA Handgun Championship

USPSA Shooter Kippi Leatham

U.S. Practical Shooting Association

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — -(AmmoLand.com)- Springfield Armory’s husband and wife team of Kippi and Robbie Leatham of Mesa, Ariz. brought home two division titles from the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s Area 2 Regional Handgun Championships.

Kippi won the Women’s Production division title while husband Robbie took top honors in the Limited division. Robbie Leatham previously won the Limited title in 2005 and 2004.

“Kippi and Robbie represent a serious one-two punch for Springfield Armory and our congratulations go out to them both,” said Dave Thomas, executive director of the U.S. Practical Shooting Association.

“The sport of Practical Shooting, like many of the shooting sports, offers women shooters the same competitive opportunities as men, making it an ideal recreational opportunity for couples. The Leathams are just one example of the many husband and wife tandems competing today,” added Thomas

USPSA Shooter Robbie Leatham

Among the women shooters, Kippi Leatham edged out Sara Dunivin by just over 18 points to capture the Women’s Production division title with a final score of 895.0602. Leatham’s score placed her 26th overall among all shooters competing with the duty-style pistols used in Production. Leatham shot the match using a 9mm Springfield Armory XD.

Dunivin finished second with a final score of 876.6597. Rounding out the top five women in Production were third place finisher Carrie Jamrogowicz shooting a score of 819.7222 points, Kandi Blick in fourth with 710.5567 and Ana Lisa Christensen taking fifth with a score of 642.4330 match points.

In the Limited competition the other half of the Leatham household topped an extremely competitive field of 108 shooters that included 16 Masters and five Grand Masters. Robbie Leatham, regarded by many to be one of the greatest practical shooters of all time, is himself ranked a Grand Master.

In taking the title Leatham won five of the 11 stages in the match and took the lead after the fourth. John Mouret of Surprise, Ariz. started the match out in front by winning the first stage. Henning Wallgren of Longmont, Colo. pulled into the lead after the second stage and held it through the third, ultimately handing over the lead to Leatham after the fourth stage.

Leatham remained in the lead through the rest of the match finishing with a final score of 1391.3146, over 55 points ahead of Wallgren who finished second by winning two stages and shooting 1335.6162.

Rounding out the Limited top five were Mouret in third with 1324.0954 points, Glenn Shelby of Aztec, N.M. shooting 1300.1898 and Steve Shroufe of Flagstaff, Ariz. posting a final score of 1252.8102 match points.

The match, which was held November 12-15 at the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa, Ariz., drew a total of 355 shooters who put a combined 100,000-plus rounds down range competing for regional championship titles in the Open, Limited, Limited-10, Production, Revolver and Single Stack divisions.

The USPSA Area 2 region includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and New Mexico but shooters from around the country attended.

About USPSA:
The United States Practical Shooting Association is a non-profit membership association and the governing body for the sport of Practical Shooting in America. USPSA has nearly 18,000 members and more than 350 affiliated clubs which host weekly matches throughout the country providing recreational shooters with the opportunity to test and refine their shooting skills in a safe, competitive environment. USPSA is also the US Region of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), which is comprised of approximately 67 nations. For more information, visit www.uspsa.org.

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