BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two former horseshoe pitching world champions nearly repeated that feat and several other members of Bristol’s Sodbusters Horseshoe Club also had very strong performances at the World Horseshoe Tournament, which wrapped up a two-week tournament in Buffalo on July 26.
Brian Simmons won the Men’s A class title before capturing second in the final champion round. Fellow Bristol resident Debra Brown did the same in the Women’s A class.
In winning Men’s Class A, Simmons had a perfect 15-0 record in head-to-head competition with a sizzling 85.5 percent ringer percentage. He cooled off somewhat in the championship round, hitting 80 percent ringers and earnings a 13-2 record for second place in the world.
For her part, Brown went 11-2 with a 79.62 ringer percentage in winning her class, then posted a 14-1 record (79.92 ringer percentage) in the championship round to place second.
Both Simmons and Brown won $2,100 for their second-place finish in the championship and $500 apiece for winning their class.
Two other Sodbusters also competed in the championship rounds. After claiming 6th place in the Junior B class, Destinnie Wilke earned third place in the Junior Girls Championship with a 3-2 record and a 42.97 ringer percentage. Georgia McCormick captured 9th place in the Women’s C class to advance to the Senior Women’s Championship round, where she got eighth place.
Heather Selleck was second in Junior D and was an alternate to the championship round.
The Sodbusters Horseshoe Club is hosting the HP Pro Tour “Green Mountain Challenge” competition on Aug. 22-24 at their courts in Bristol off Airport Road behind the American Legion. This is the fourth stop on a five-tournament HP Pro Tour schedule that includes matches in South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. The deadline for entering the Green Mountain Challenge is Aug. 12. More information is at www.hpprotour.com or by calling Mike at 453-2219.
The following is the record of all Sodbusters at the World Tournament, with class, place, win-loss record and ringer percentage:
CLASS COMPETITION
Junior B, Destinnie Wilke, 6th, 5-4, 39.72%.
Junior D, Heather Selleck, 2nd, 7-3, 37.00%.
Elders N, Ron Williamson, 7th, 10-5, 30.00%.
Senior Men’s G, Craig Brown, 7th, 10.5-6.5, 22.35%.
Women’s A, Debra Brown, 1st, 11-2, 79.62%.
Women’s C, Brianna McCormick, 5th, 7.5-5.5, 56.15%.
Women’s C, Georgia McCormick, 9th, 5.5-7.5, 50.19%.
Women’s E, Connie Selleck, 6th, 9-6, 40.50%.
Women’s G, Diana Martin, 9th, 6-9, 30.17%.
Women’s H, Donna Lewis, 11th, 7-8, 30.00%.
Women’s I, Juanita Ratta, 3rd, 10.5-4.5, 28.33%.
Men’s A, Brian Simmons, 1st, 15-0, 85.50%.
Men’s P-2, Myron Selleck, 4th, 10-5, 11.00%.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Junior Girls, Destinnie Wilke, 3rd, 3-2, 42.97%.
Women, Debra Brown, 2nd, 14-1, 79.92%.
Senior Women, Georgia McCormick, 8th, 0-7, 40.91%.
Men, Brian Simmons, 2nd, 13-2, 80.00%.