The 2018 New Jersey State Shoot rotated back to Joint Base, and shooters were treated to outstanding targets and terrific referees. The tournament started on Friday August 3rd with the Doubles event and Leo Nebbia’s 96 earned him his first state championship. Congratulations Leo!! John Zema claimed AA1, Ben Galioto A1, Jay Taylor beat out 11 shooters to win B1, Non-Resident Stu Slovsky took C1 and Howard Mann reeled in D1.

On Saturday the weather Gods gave us a full menu, consisting of sun, thunderstorms, and wind with puffy white clouds, but none of this deterred Hall of Famer Holly Paul, Nick Pino, and Jim Barnes, who all broke 97’s in the 20 gauge event. All three made their way to the shoot off field, and in the end, it came down to Paul and Barnes. After 10 stations, a tenacious Barnes won his first State Title. Congratulations Jim!!! Class winners were Ben Galioto AA1, Holly Paul A1, Bob Vrablik claimed B1, Tony Viel C1 and Greg Khalaf outlasted the field for D1. Non-Resident Joe Attard shot a strong 97, and walked away with 8 boxes of 20 gauge Ammo for the day!

On Saturday afternoon the weather improved slightly for the 28 gauge and a determined Ricky “Bags” Bagni stepped up and shot a solid 98 to claim his 7th State Title. Congratulations Ricky! Class winners were John Zema AA1, Dick Lukasik blasted a 96 to claim A1, Nick Pino B1, and Bob Vrablik shot a solid 96 to claim C1. Ray Stas topped D class.

On Saturday evening, NJSSA hosted a delicious catered dinner with desert for shooters and Joint Base staff at the Joint Base Clubhouse near the rifle range. A good time was had by all!

The weather improved for Sunday, and Leo Nebbia shot the only 100 straight of the weekend claiming the 12 gauge Championship and his second state title. Class winners were Ben Galioto AA1, Rick Bagni A1, Jim Barnes won B1 with a strong 98, Keith Wilber C1, and Tommy Surman D1.

The last gun was the 410, and Ben Galioto’s 95 was enough to crown him champion. John Zema claimed AA1, Dick Lukasik smoked 94 targets to take A1, Nick Pino secured B1, Bruce Gordon’s 93 won C1 and Joe Madlinger iced D1.

This year, the HOA had to be settled on the shoot off field. Both Ricky Bagni and Ben Galioto were tied, and after an intense shoot off, Galioto claimed the 2018 HOA Title.. This is Ben’s 12th career state title! Class winners were John Zema AA1, Leo Nebbia A1, Nick Pino B1, Keith Wilber C1, Greg Khalaf D1, and Raymond Stas E1.

A special thank you goes to Ben Galioto, President, Nick Pino, Treasurer, Russell Paul, Secretary and Eddie Amaty, Chief Referee for their dedication and hard work in making this State Shoot a success. An additional thank you goes to our referees Mark Bricker and Sophia Galioto for doing a superb job. To our skeet administrator Kevin Dawkins and the entire Joint Base staff, thank you! Next time you see Rob Madowsky please thank him for donating our beautiful T-Shirts. Finally, a special thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s NJ State Championship. Your commitment to New Jersey Skeet Shooting is greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing you next year!