Carlson Breaks Decade-old Rifle Score at 2023 Western Fall Classic

Phoenix, Ariz. – At the 2023 Western Fall Classic, Julia Carlson, 47, of Lehi, UT, reached a Vintage Military Match event record with her remarkable score of 293-3X. The new score beats out the previous record set in 2010 by just one point.

Along with claiming the Vintage Miliary Match win, Carlson also overtook the Carbine Rifle Match with a score of 353-5X. Though not an event record, her performance was more than 10 points above the second place competitor – tightly securing a victory.

The Western Fall Classic was a late addition to the CMP competition schedule in 2023, serving as a condensed version of the annual Western CMP Games, CMP Pistol & CMP Highpower (HP) Rifle Matches. Despite its shorter schedule, the event offered a variety of rifle and pistol competitions for visitors to enjoy.

Bringing home plenty of hardware from the pistol series was Tony Silva, 69, of Snowflake, AZ, who claimed wins in the 1911 As-Issued Match, the Military & Police Match and all three 900 Aggregate matches in the Any Sights division – leading to the overall score in the culminating Pistol 2700 event as well as the Overall Individual Pistol Aggregate title.

Jeffrey Mikesell, 48, of Gilbert, AZ, also found multiple pistol wins as he found the top spot in the EIC Service Pistol Match and the .22 Rimfire 900 Aggregate in the Metallic Sight category.

Back in rifle, William Fairless, 69, of Vienna, IL, gave outstanding performances in the Games matches, taking wins in the Garand Match and the Modern Military Match. His consistency led to additional victories in the Three-Gun and Four-Gun Aggregates.

Other leaders of the 2023 Western Fall Classic included:

M16 EIC Rifle:
LCDR Vincent Stanley, 59, San Marcos, CA – 366-4X

M9 EIC Pistol:
Dewayne Wolfer, 69, Hollywood, CA – 224-2X

Revolver EIC:
Robert Feldmeyer, 45, Queen Creek, AZ – 347-2X

.22 Rimfire Pistol EIC:
Eugene Berman, 51, Fountain Hills, AZ – 271-1X

EIC Service Pistol:
Jeffrey Mikesell, 48, Gilbert, AZ – 268-5X

1911 As-Issued Pistol:
Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 372-9X

Military & Police Service Pistol:
Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 375-14X

Overall Individual Pistol Aggregate:
Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 1594-33X

.22 Rimfire 900 Aggregate:

Any Sights: Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 833-16X
Metallic Sights: Jeffrey Mikesell, 48, Gilbert, AZ – 836-15X

Center Fire 900 Aggregate:

Any Sights: Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 827-18X
Metallic Sights: George Siordian, 60, Phoenix, AZ – 809-16X

.45 Pistol 900 Aggregate:
Any Sights: Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 826-24X

Match Pistol 2700 Aggregate:

Any Sights: Tony Silva, 69, Snowflake, AZ – 2486-58X
Metallic Sights: George Siordian, 60, Phoenix, AZ – 2382-55X

Garand Match:
William Fairless, 69, Vienna, IL – 285-7X

Springfield Match:
Dennis Caviness, 48, Lake Havasu City, AZ – 283-3X

Vintage Military Match:
Julia Carlson, 47, Lehi, UT – 293-3X

Modern Military Match:
William Fairless, 69, Vienna, IL – 285-8X

Three-Gun Aggregate:
William Fairless, 69, Vienna, IL – 838-16X

Four-Gun Aggregate:
William Fairless, 69, Vienna, IL – 1123-24X

Rimfire Sporter Rifle:

O-Class: Only one competitor
T-Class: Adam Murano, 51, Ivins, UT – 580-21X
TU-Class: Christopher Hook, 53, Prescott, AZ – 572-15X

Carbine Match:
Julia Carlson, 47, Lehi, UT – 353-5X

Vintage Sniper Team Match:

Manual: X’s & 8’s (Christopher Hook & Arthur Merrill) – 391-16X|
Semi-Auto: Not enough teams to name a winner

CMP Mid-Range 3×600:

Match Rifle: Kelly Frank, 61, Prescott, AZ – 584-16X
Service Rifle: Steve Collins, 65, Phoenix, AZ – 572-19X
Palma Rifle: Not enough competitors to name a winner
F-Open: Pete Ricci, 74, Scottsdale, AZ – 581-13X
F T/R: Kim Porter, 54, Gainesville, FL – 564-14X
AR Tactical: Not enough competitors to name a winner

Service Rifle EIC:
Jess Mellen, 49, Phoenix, AZ – 485-11X

CMP 1600 Overall Aggregate:

Service Rifle: Michael Borkon, 73, Mission Hills, KS – 1553-48X
Match Rifle: Ronald Zerr, 61, Tucson, AZ – 1578-70X

See a complete list of results of the 2023 Western Fall Classic on the CMP Competition Tracker page at https://ct.thecmp.org/WesternFallClassic23Results. Photos of the event may be viewed and downloaded for free at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f315062228.

AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The CMP will be returning to Phoenix in October 2024 for the next Western CMP Games, Pistol & HP Matches! Stay tuned for more info in the coming months and read up on the event at https://thecmp.org/cmp-matches/western-cmp-highpower-cmp-games-matches/.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.