Vogel Overtakes Miguez for Area 5 Limited Title

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — Bob Vogel of Wapakoneta, Ohio, won his second U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) regional championship of the year this past weekend with a come-from-behind win in the Limited division at the USPSA Canyon Creek Area 5 Regional Handgun Championship.

This is the fourth year in a row that Vogel has won a title at the Area 5 Championship. He won back-to-back Limited-10 division titles in 2009 and 2008, as well as the Production division title in 2007.

Winning only two of the 12 stages, and competing with a Glock model 24 which gives up two rounds per magazine to his competitors, Vogel battled from behind to overtake the match leader, and 2009 winner, Blake Miguez of New Iberia, La., on the final stage of the match.

Miguez, who is one of the top Limited division shooters in the country and currently featured on the History Channel’s show Top Shot, won four stages early in the match and held the lead on 10 of 12 stages.

Going into the final stage of the match, Miguez held a 7.6605 point lead but fell to second place, giving back nearly 30 points to Vogel on the last stage. Vogel ended the match with a final score of 1427.7224 points, to Miguez’s 1411.3962.

“Bob is quickly proving to be one of the most versatile shooters in USPSA. Whether it’s in the Production division, Limited-10 or Limited, Bob continues to collect titles with a duty-style pistol typically used in law enforcement,” said Michael Voigt, president of USPSA.

Finishing over 65 points behind the leader in third with a score of 1362.2730 was Ted Puente of Milwaukee, Wis. Puente, who won two stages in the match, was trailing in fourth until winning the final stage in the match and moving himself into third.

Rounding out the top five were Team Sig member Matt Cheely of Plymouth, Mich., in fourth with two stage wins and a score of 1359.1312, and Emmanuel Bragg of Kirksville, Mo., in fifth with one stage win and a final score of 1354.9410.

Also taking home Limited division titles were John Smith of Marseilles, Ill., who won the Senior Limited contest, James Shema of Hebron, Ind., who took the Super Senior Limited division title, and Teepy Porter of St. Marys, Ga., who won the Junior Limited title.

Hosted by the Tri County Gun Club in Polo, Ill., and sponsored by Canyon Creek, the Area 5 match grew 22.5% over the previous year with a total of 337 top shooters from around the country, as well as Canada, competing for a title in one of six divisions.

Area 5 is one of the eight USPSA shooting regions in the country and is made up of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The next regional match on the USPSA calendar is the 2010 USPSA Area 1 Pistol championship scheduled for June 24 through 27 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. For more information, visit www.uspsa.org.