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The 2005 Virginia State Singles and
Championships Tournament
September 3rd and 4th, 2005 Hosted by the Stuarts Draft Horseshoe Club By Patricia Snelgrove Schneider Park in Stuarts Draft was the host site for the 2005 Virginia State Singles. 92 pitchers competed for the title of Virginia State Champion in 6 divisions – Men, Women, Elder, Junior Boy, Junior Girl and PeeWee. The pitchers qualified for the Championship Divisions by competing in rounds of class play, separating 40 foot and 30 foot pitchers, with the top percentage pitchers moving into the championships rounds. On Saturday, Jessicca Matsko, from Stuarts Draft, a Junior Girl, qualified in the Mixed-30-foot E class, finishing 4th with an 8.5% average. Jessicca’s average earned her second seed going into the championship playoff later in the afternoon. Amanda Tolbert (Chesapeake) entered the championship round as top seed, with a 25% average, the sure favorite. Jessica had to face Amanda in her last game. Jessica had her mind set to win the title and pitched with everything she could. The lead in the game switched several times but it was Jessicca’s last shoe – a ringer, worth 3 points - which gave her the title of Junior Girl Champion, winning the game with those final 3 points. As top seed, Kenny Puffenbarger Jr. (Staunton) entered the Junior Boy’s Championship playoffs with a 28% average. Second seed DJ Lawson (Radford), entered with 25% average. Both boys pitched extremely well but it was Kenny’s constant ringers that gave him the edge and the title of Junior Boy Champion. Kenny finished the day with a 36% average, DJ’s final average was 30%, and Nick Matsko (Stuarts Draft) finished 3rd holding an 11.5% average. Trey McDowell, PeeWee, 8 years old, qualified in 30-foot-mixed E Class, finishing in 3rd place with 20%. He finished the championship rounds, winning PeeWee Division Champion with an overall record of 16.67%. Raymond Deal (Madison Heights) won the Elder’s Division Champion title, finishing the rounds undefeated with a 51.47% record. John Ham (Stuarts Draft) ended a hard day pitching in G Class, when in the sixth round he stumbled and twisted his back. Even though he lost his seventh and final game, his previous wins were enough to carry him to the title of G Class Champion with a 21.7% average. In Saturday’s 30-foot-mixed C Class qualifying rounds, a tie for 1st place forced a playoff between Betty Weakley (Madison) and Charlene Hix (Ruther Glen). Betty won that round 30-22, winning Class Champion with a 39.29% overall. Charlene finished in second place with 30.00%. Betty’s 39.29% qualifying record allowed her to edge out competitors from A and B classes, to move into the Division Championship rounds as third seed. Amy Hall (Moneta) went undefeated in qualifying play and entered the Championship Rounds as top seed. There also, she went undefeated, earning the title of Virginia State Women’s Division Champion with an overall 81.16% average. During the championship rounds, she pitched TWO amazing games with 86.36% ringers, throwing 19 ringers out of 22 shoes. During the Open Men’s A Class qualifying rounds Saturday evening, Hearl Kelly (Buena Vista) won Class Champion title, finishing 6-1, with an overall 66.79% average. His only loss was by one point in a game against Jackie Whetzel (Harrisonburg). Jackie came in 2nd place, edging out 3rd place winner Ricky Hall (Moneta) by a one-half game tie. Ricky finished with the highest overall percentage, 72.50%, but that one-half game scored by Jackie finalized the standings. Ricky also pitched the highest single game of the entire competition during his qualifying rounds - an amazing 87.5% - 35 ringers out of 40 shoes – against Randy Rickard (Spotsylvania). In Sunday’s championship rounds, Hearl earned the title of Virginia State Open Men’s Division Champion, with a record of 7-0, 61.69%. Jackie Whetzel came in 2nd with 6-1, and 61.17%. Ricky Hall finished 3rd with 5-2, 60.17%. In the qualifying rounds, Hearl Kelly’s only loss was in the game with Jackie. During the Championship rounds, Jackie’s only loss was given to him by Hearl. Paul Stewart, President of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association surprised everyone by attending the event. He was accompanied by Ron and Barbara Taylor from South Carolina, newly established NHPA hardware distributor for the Mid-Atlantic states. The Virginia Horseshoe Pitcher’s Association and the Stuarts Draft Horseshoe Club would like to thank the sponsors and contributors that made this event possible: Yoho Electrical , Lyndhurst King Custom, Stuarts Draft E&E Plumbing, Stuarts Draft John Monarchy, Calloway, MD Noor Oil, Stuarts Draft Dominoe’s Pizza, Stuarts Draft Kirk’s Barber Shop, Stuarts Draft Raymond Deal & Marvin May, Lexington JC's Handyman, Christiansburg Cosmetic Vein Centers of VA, LLC, Christiansburg Thompson Chrysler, Radford Ground Vibration, Radford Ricky & Amy Hall, Moneta Fashion Floors of Roanoke, Roanoke Finer Homes Realty, Mechanicsville |
Singles Class Play 40 and 30 foot Distances Championship Divisions |
2005 Virginia State Singles and Championships
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