BEP: Walt Wise Memorial Match

The 63rd Annual Walter Wise Memorial Police Pistol Match

Dates: September 21-22, 2024

2023 Recap

This year, we had 91 registered shooters from FL, MD, NJ, NY, PA, and WV compete in the 64th Annual Walter Wise Memorial Police Pistol Match which was held on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, 2023 at our outdoor Bullseye range. We had a great turnout this year, and it was nice to see old friends and fellow shooters again! Many new friendships were made as well.

This year, prior to the start of the matches, a prayer was given by Gen. Larry Brown, followed by the presentation of colors by the PA State Police on Saturday and the Lower Paxton Police on Sunday. Then Jim Lambert, a retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper, read the names and honored the four Pennsylvania officers killed in the line of duty in 2023, followed by a very touching poem written by our own Diane Dougherty.

After the safety briefing, the Walt Wise matches commenced, and two relays of Rimfire and Centerfire matches were shot each day. As usual, competition was fierce again this year!

Here’s a Summary of the results:

Julie Latzgo was the overall Match Winner with a two-day aggregate score of 3575-207x. Steve Gibbons was 2nd with 3570-209x. Heim Trang was 3rd with 3568-197x.
In the 4-Man Team Matches, Monocacy Pistol Club (MPC) Gold was the Grand Winner in both Rimfire (1192-68x) and Centerfire (1184-64x).
In the 2-Man Team Matches, John Hollingshead and Ed Grove were the Class A Winners in Rimfire on Saturday (598-35x), and Julie Latzgo and Heim Trang were the Class A Winners in Centerfire on Saturday (594-30x). Julie Latzgo and Heim Trang were the Class A Winners in Rimfire on Sunday (597-40x). John Hollingshead and Ed Grove were the Class A Winners in Centerfire on Sunday (592-27x).
In the special Commemorative Centerfire Revolver Match, Brian Keyser won with a score of 284-9x. Douglas Kenawell was a close 2nd with 282-11x.
No Standing Records were tied or broken this year.
In the Special Categories, Julie Latzgo was High Civilian, Bob Scarborough was High Police, Jason Goodling was High Service, Julie Latzgo was High Woman, Logan Crossett was High Junior, Steve Gibbons was High Senior, Ed Grove was High Grand Senior, and Nick Dewar was High Super Senior.

Congratulations to all for your fine shooting!

This Recap and the Match Results for 2023 will be posted soon on the Walt Wise web page at https://www.harrisburghunters.org/waltwise for all to access.

Here’s a breakdown of the 95 shooters who attended this year by Category and Special Category.

Category

Civilian 88
Police 2
Service 1

--- Total 91

Special Category

Woman 9
Junior 1
Senior 31
Grand Senior 24
Super Senior 9
None Assigned 17

--- Total 91

Thanks very much to everyone who attended. We really appreciated your participation and hope to see you all again next year.

Special thanks go out to the many volunteers who helped run the match, including those who did match and web site administration, registration, squadding, range preparation/setup/teardown, colors, line calling, range safety, score card processing, data entry and reporting, awards, t-shirt and raffle sales, and meal preparation and service. You are the ones who make it happen, and your dedication and hard work are greatly appreciated. We certainly could not hold an event of this magnitude without you! Thanks to everyone!!!!

Note: A special, cake-cutting ceremony was held at the clubhouse at lunchtime on Saturday for Kay Bischof. Kay was honored to thank her for her 25 years of outstanding service (1998-2022) as the Match Director for the Walt Wise match. Kay’s name was added to a plaque that the club maintains to honor those who have given so much in support of the club’s pistol competitions, she also received a Certificate of Recognition for her 25 years of service, and we all wished her the very best in her retirement. The ceremony was a surprise for Kay, and it was very emotional for her and us as well.

As you know, Marianne Corl and Jen Montefour took over as Co-Match Directors of the Walt Wise this year, and we are very happy to report that the 2023 match was a resounding success! They look forward to keeping this prestigious match going strong in the future, and will be in communication with you again in the coming months, asking for feedback so that we may continue to improve the event.

Next year’s match will be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 21-22, 2024. Please mark your calendars and plan on coming to shoot with us again. As always, feel free to bring some new shooters with you to share in the fun! Our match is open to the public.

Click on these links for more information about our match: