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34th Spring Grand

Tucson, AZ; By Mark Constantine
02/22-28/2010 The real winner Sunday in the finale of the 34th annual American Trapshooting Association Spring Grand held at the Tucson Trap and Skeet Club was the weather. A stinging, biting cold combined with a nearly steady rain kept many shooters from taking part in the Handicap event, which brought down the curtain on the nearly week-long ATA competition. Ladies High All-Around champ Kerrie Largent of Reading, Calif., noted she’ll add “a shooting jacket” to her wardrobe after fending off Lou Ann Munson of Howard City, Minn., in a shoot-off for the HAA title.
“It was cold out there in just a sweatshirt,” Largent concluded. Munson, meanwhile, wore a shooting jacket and, despite calling the winter-wonderland state of Minnesota home, was still feeling the effects of the unseasonably cool temperatures. “It’s cold, there’s no other way to put it,” Munson said. Largent, who left her husband home to tend to the family’s metal fabricating business, didn’t head to Tucson expecting to win. “I did so much better than I thought I would,” she said. Leo Harrison III, of New London, Mo., made his way west figuring he had a good shot at taking the top prize in the Spring Grand. The 6-foot-5 Harrison, the ATA 2010 All-American men’s captain, said he had “a good week” in Tucson. This marks Harrison’s 43rd year in the sport, and he pointed out his size helps him with a gun on his shoulder. “I think I am able to handle the recoil better. That’s where my size and strength is an asset.” He also pointed out he’s good at taking competitions one shot at a time, not looking ahead. The foul weather didn’t bother him. “You just have to concentrate and block everything else out.” Tucson Trap and Skeet Club Vice President Doug Sims noted his facility hosted the Spring Grand for the ninth time. The weather throughout most of the week leading into Sunday’s finale “was great, just like you usually see it in Tucson at this time of year,” he said. “We threw more than 700,000 targets in the last week with nearly 700 shooters competing. The week before the Preliminary Spring Grand took place in Tucson, and Sims said between the two competitions over 900,000 targets were flung into the air.

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Leo Harrison III, London, Mo., signs to pick up his trophy as the Spring Grand HOA and HAA	HOA and HAA champion Leo Harrison III, right, stands with Singles Championship Flight winner Mike Jordan, left, and Doubles Championship Flight winner Jason Folvag	HOA and HAA champion Leo Harrison III of New London, Mo
Kerrie Largent takes a moment to collect her thoughts during a break in the shoot-off to determine the Ladies HAA champion	Lou Ann Munson, Howard Lake, Minn., Ladies HOA

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