RIVERLAND target shooter Mark Cresp bagged two gold medals in the masters and veterans 50-metre benchrest event at Target Shooting Australia’s national championships held over the Easter weekend in Shepparton, Victoria.
Cresp (pictured) said winning the benchrest event was the “pinnacle” of his shooting career.
“I’ve been chasing it for the last five years,” he said.
“In previous years I’ve got a fifth, a fourth, a third and now a first.
“It’s good – our Riverland club is only a small club with half a dozen regular shooters.”
In the benchrest event Cresp was up against a field of 50 other shooters from across the country.
Over two days of competition, Cresp shot 636.6 on day one, then 631.2 on day two, qualifying fourth for the final.
Cresp’s South Australian teammate David Keen finished runner-up, with Victoria’s Henry Lieng placed in third.
Cresp said he was up against some stiff competition.
“One of the other fellows came eighth in the world championship and that’s pretty good,” he said.
Across the entire field Cresp finished top in the aggregate standing for the event.
Cresp is a renowned among the Riverland shooting scene, having the Renmark Small Bore Rifle Club’s club trophy named in his honour.
Cresp, Roy and Paul Helbig, of Morgan, Adelaide-based shooter David Keen combined to take out the teams event for South Australia.