Three-time winner Craig Simpson and four-time female winner Aliana McMaster finished tops at the Driftwood Gun Club Shoot at the 17-station Murphy Hill Course in St Ann recently.

Both competitors shot 95 out of 100 targets and dominated the packed field, which included a total of 157 of the best gunners on the island, such as nine-time national shotgun champion and president of the Jamaica Skeet Club Ian Banks; six-time national shotgun champion and defending champion Shaun Barnes; four-time and reigning national shotgun champion Christian Sasso; Chad Ziadie, the 2022 national shotgun champion; as well as five-time national female shotgun champion Wendy McMaster.

The young McMaster already created history by being the first female to make it to the A Class late last year and her score of 95 again etched her name in the history books, as it is the highest by any female locally. When her score was posted most people thought it very possible that she won, which would make her the first female to win any sporting clay event in Jamaica, but Simpson roared back with his high-scoring 95 to set up a tense shoot-off between them.

In the end, Simpson took down six of the eight targets, while McMaster struck only four.

“Winning is always an amazing feeling, it’s what keeps us going. I tell everybody that I don’t think I leave my house if I was not coming here to win. I am hungry for the win. Always hungry for the win. I am always excited about the competitive field, and as the years go by with the juniors emerging, the field only becomes more competitive, and it's an internal challenge to stay relevant. I have been able to do that over the years and I plan to continue to be there for as long as I can, but they are coming," Simpson said.

McMaster, on the other hand, was also happy with her performance.

“It’s honestly an amazing feeling. After you have a reputation or expectation from the people coming to the shoot it can get to you and really mess up your head. I feel it can play a big part in how that day goes, but I just had to approach it like any other shoot and just do my best, and frankly, winning four times in a row is honestly such a great feeling and I am absolutely grateful for it," she noted.

Meanwhile, the top three in the various classes were A Class: Christian Sasso (92) by way of shoot-off with William Zager (92) and Alex Cunningham (91); B Class: Gordon Bucknor (86), Robin Rickhi (84), and Zachary Harris (81); C Class: Brandon Laing (90), Adam Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); D Class: Lori-Ann Harris (85) and Noah Vaughn (84); E Class: Seymour Essor (69), David Campbell (67), and Anthony Ayoub (67); Ladies: Aliana McMaster (95), Lori-Ann Harris (85), and Wendy McMaster (85); Hunters or Beginners: Philip Burgess (77), Cameron Lee (69), and Che Rowe (68); Juniors Aliana McMaster (95), David Wong (87), and Lori-Ann Harris (85); and Sub Juniors: Craig Powell Jr (55) and Levi Clarke (48).

Chad Ziadie and Aliana McMaster were crowned Jamaica’s national sporting clays champions on following an exhilarating day of shooting action at the Tru-Juice Estate in Bog Walk, St Catherine.

More than 100 of Jamaica’s best shooters had assembled to vie for the title of national champion. In the end, the pinpoint accuracy of Ziadie and the teen Phenom, McMaster, put them above the rest.

Ziadie advanced to the Super Six round after scoring 174 and was followed by Nicholas Chen (170), Christian Sasso (167), Craig Simpson (167) JJ Ralston (167) and Shaun Barnes (163).

The round consists of a 25-bird target over three rounds of intense shooting to determine the overall winner.

After the three rounds, Ziadie and Chen were tied on 185 forcing another round of eight targets. Both were still tied on 191, which meant that a fifth round shoot-off became necessary.

Ziadie shot first and picked off seven of the eight targets, forcing Chen to hit all eight targets for the win. He hit six thus handing Ziadie his very first national title.

"It feel great. I have been runner-up twice, last year and two years ago, so it feels good to be finally on top,” said the newly minted champion, who revealed how nerve-racking it was during the shoot off.

“You have to keep your mental going until the very end and also just zone out everybody else and just focus on yourself,” he said.

“He (Chen) pushed me to the end and I am glad I came out on top."

Junior shooter JJ Ralston was declared the A Class champion after scoring 167 along with Craig Simpson -167 and Christian Sasso - 167.

All three shooters competed in the Super Six shoot-off. Their placements are a direct result of their scores at the end of the shoot-off which were 183, 182 and 180 respectively.

McMaster had a relatively easier time of it, scoring 149. Her mother Wendy McMaster shot a score of 140 while Jolie Chin (115) was third.

Aliana, who was also second in the B Class behind Ramon Pitter (167), was thought she could have shot better during the tournament.

"I am not entirely satisfied with my performance over the weekend however I am still grateful that I was still able to come out on top," she said.

The top three shooters in the various classes were:

A Class: JJ Ralston - 167, Craig Simpson - 167 and Christian Sasso - 167.

B Class: Ramon Pitter - 161, Aliana McMaster - 149 and Najeeb Haber - 137.

C Class: Gordon Bucknor - 145, Dominic Simpson - 143 and Wendy McMaster 140 (L/R).

D Class: Craig Hendrickson - 156, Justin Samuda - 149 and Anthony Desnoes 141.

E Class: Max Williams - 127, Seymour Essor - 124 and Chris Clarke - 121.

Ladies Class: Aliana McMaster - 149, Wendy McMaster -140 and Joelie Chin - 115.

The Juniors: JJ Ralston - 167, Roman Tavares-Finson - 161, Mark Desnoes – 159.

Hunters or Beginners: Andrew Clarke - 132, Kevin Chin Shue - 126 and Nick Dawson - 125.

Chad Ziadie and Wendy McMaster emerged winners of the recent National Shotgun Champions (NSC) held at the Grand Port Royal Hotel.