Gilson, Hoekstra Top ICORE Central States Open Div.

LOS OSOS, Calif. — Michigan’s Christopher Gilson of Coopersville led the field of Open division revolvers shooters from the first stage to the last to capture the 2010 Central States Regional Revolver Championship this past Sunday in Buchanan, Mich.

The match, which was organized by the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) and sponsored by firearms maker Smith & Wesson, drew 93 tops shooters from throughout region.

Gilson took top honors by winning four of the eight stages in the match and posting a final time of 225.65 seconds, just 4.67 seconds ahead of Robert Patton Jr. of Rossville, Ind. who placed second with a time of 230.32.

“Chris bounced back from last year’s second place finish in the Open division to take the 2010 title as well as place second overall in the match. He shot an outstanding match I join with the rest of ICORE on congratulating him on his victory,” said Art Leach, spokesman for ICORE.

Patton, who won two stages in the match, claimed the Senior Open division title as well as High Overall Senior.

Third place went to the defending champion Ron Williamson or Thousand Oaks, Calif. Williamson shot the match in 252.28 seconds to finish 26.63 seconds out of first.

Rounding out the top five were Rom Mainus of Waterford, Wis. who won two stages and took fourth in 260.23 seconds, and Shiela Hoekstra of Kalamazoo, Mich. in fifth with a time of 289.25.

In a reversal from 2009, Hoekstra edged out the defending women’s champion, and this year’s top junior, Sarah Irish of Dearborn, Mich., by a mere 0.03 seconds to claim the High Overall Lady title. Through the match the two swapped stage wins with Hoekstra opening up a lead of 8.65 seconds after the sixth stage to give her just enough cushion to hold off a late two-stage-win charge by Irish.

“The battle for top lady was probably the highlight of the match,” observed Leach. “Both Shiela and Sarah are phenomenal shooters and with just a 0.03 second margin of victory, there is no doubt that was the nail-biter of the season.”

The ICORE Central States Regional Revolver Championship was held at the Bend of the River Conservation Club on Sunday, July 18. The competition drew shooters from California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The match was the fifth in a series of six regional events sponsored by Smith & Wesson whose revolvers are widely used in competition. The final regional event is scheduled for Sunday, September 26 when the East Coast Revolver Regional will take place in Tripoli, Pa.

For further information on the ICORE competition season, as well as complete match results, visit www.icore.org, or follow @ICORE_Shooting on Twitter.