The Whitehall rifle club won a pair of matches over the last two weeks and stand atop the Tri-County League standings.
John Hollister’s performance against Hartford two weeks ago may well have decided the Tri-County League championship.
Hollister was steady as usual, leading all shooters with a score of 198. With Whitehall holding a one-point edge, Hollister stepped to the line on the third relay and after he walked off, the match was pretty much settled as he shot a perfect 50.
On the opening relay, Jason Pratt got things off to a pretty good start, firing a 197 and Dick McMore followed with a 193. Brian Hollister, on the second relay, was able to contribute a much-needed 195 and by the time of the fourth and last relay it was just a question of how much Pete Steffan would add to the total.
Last week, the team defeated an undermanned Hudson Falls squad 978-559.
Hudson Falls had only three shooters show up and Whitehall got a pair of 197s from Louie Pratt and John Hollister.
Jason Pratt fired a 196 and Scott Fish and Dick McMore each shot a 194. Pete Steffan and Brian Hollister each had a 192 and Jim Lafayette added a 191.
The victories put Whitehall in sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Rifle League with three matches yet to go.
Whitehall has a season average of 979.2 and a high score of 987. If the locals can keep shooting as they have, they should hang on for another title.
Whitehall will travel to Moreau this week. Moreau has a small range where they shoot off tables, something that gives visiting teams trouble, and they staged a big upset of Galway in last season’s finale, a fate Whitehall hopes to avoid.
Whitehall – 979
John Hollister: 50, 50, 50, 48-198; Jason Pratt: 50, 50, 48, 49-197: Pete Steffan: 50, 50, 49, 47-196; Brian Hollister: 50, 48, 50, 47-195; Dick McMore: 50, 49, 48, 46-193
Hartford – 962
N. Lewis: 50, 50, 48, 48-196; E. Stewart: 50, 50, 48, 47-195; B. Jones: 50, 50, 46, 47-193; P. Townsend: 48, 47, 49, 45-189; L. Cosh: 50, 48, 48, 43-189
Whitehall – 978
Lou Pratt: 50, 50, 49, 48-197; John Hollister: 50, 50, 50, 47-197; Jason Pratt: 50, 50, 50, 46-196; Scott Fish: 50, 49, 48, 47-194; Dick McMore: 50, 49, 48, 47-194
Hudson Falls – 559
J. Collins: 50, 47, 48, 43-188; S. Rager: 50, 47, 50, 41-188; D. Barker: 50, 43, 48, 42-183