Team S&W’s Bagakis Wins ICORE Rocky Mtn. Regional

LOS OSOS, Calif. — John Bagakis of Livermore, Calif. is on a roll. The Team Smith & Wesson member picked up his second win in the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts’ (ICORE) regional series with his Limited division victory at the Rocky Mountain Revolver Regional this past Sunday in Eaton, Colo.

In April, Bagakis won the Limited title in San Luis Obispo at the ICORE Southwest Revolver Regional. The entire six match series is sponsored by the 158-year-old firearms maker Smith & Wesson whose revolvers are favored by competition shooters.

Bagakis claimed the Rocky Mountain title by winning all but one of the eight stages in the match to finish with a score of 196.73 that placed him 22.99 points ahead of last year’s champion, and this year’s runner-up, John Burkholder of Arvada, Colo.

Burkholder was the only Limited division shooter to best Bagakis on a stage, beating him by 2.44 points on the first stage. Burkholder was able to hold the lead through the second stage but fell behind Bagakis after the third. He finished the match with a final score of 219.72.

Third place went to Brett Jelkin of Windsor, Colo. who moved up one spot from last year’s fourth place finish with a final score of 301.83. Rick Bowen, who placed sixth in 2009, moved up two spots to take fourth this year. The Fort Collins, Colo. resident posted a final score of 321.44. And repeating last year’s fifth place finish was Bob Nash of Rapid City, S.D. with 325.12.

The ICORE Rocky Mountain Regional Revolver Championship was held at the Weld County Fish & Wildlife High Plains Shooting Range, Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2. The competition drew shooters from throughout Colorado, as well as California, Idaho, Kansas, South Dakota and Utah, and was the third in a series of six regional events sponsored by Smith & Wesson. The next regional event is scheduled for the Sunday, July 18 when the Central States Revolver Regional will take place in Buchanan, Mich.

For further information on the ICORE competition season, as well as complete match results, visit www.icore.org.