Team Smith & Wesson’s Bagakis Repeats at ICORE Southwest Regional

Might as well call him John "Repeat" Bagakis, as the Livermore, Calif. resident, and Team Smith & Wesson shooter, successfully defended his Limited division title on the Hogue Action Pistol Range at the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) 13th Annual Southwest Regional Revolver Championship this past Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Bagakis bested a field of 48 limited revolver shooters for the second year in a row by winning seven of eight stages and posting a final score of 168.83 that not only placed him at the head of the pack, but also third overall among all 94 shooters.

Second place in the match went to Richard Brethour of Tempe, Ariz. who finished more than 18 points behind Bagakis, and in eighth place overall, with a final score of 187.31. Brethour took top honors on the seventh stage, and in doing so picked up nine points on Bagakis who led the match from the start.

Going into the eighth and final stage of the match, Brethour was within striking distance, just 7.64 points behind Bagakis, but could not overtake him shooting 47.37 to Bagakis’ stage winning 36.45.

Finishing in third was Tom Hubbard of Paso Robles, Calif. with a final score of 216.89, more than 48 points out of first. Overall, Hubbard finished in 16th place and shared the stage seven win with Brethour.

Fourth place, and 19th overall, went to Chris Sallee of Santa Maria, Calif. with a score of 219.42 while fifth place, and 21st overall, went to Seiichi Ishikawa of Montebello, Calif.

Other notable finishes in the Limited division included Apex Tactical team member Lisa Farrell of Los Osos, Calif. taking High Limited Lady honors by finishing 11th in Limited and 36th overall with a score of 269.64.

High Limited Senior went to Ivan McKinley of Big Bear, Calif. with 280.90, good enough for 15th in Limited and 42nd overall, while High Limited Super Senior went to Tom Frankel of Daly City, Calif. who finished 19th in Limited and 52nd overall with 302.57.

In the Juniors category, Zachary Shepard of Lompoc, Calif. finished 21st in Limited and 56th overall for High Limited Junior with 310.54. Molly Smith, a Team Smith & Wesson member of Cambria, Calif., finished second among the juniors but took the High Limited Lady Junior award with 331.27 which put her 24th among the Limited shooters and 62nd overall.

The ICORE 13th Annual Southwest Regional Revolver Championship drew competitors from throughout the Golden State, as well as Arizona and Nevada, and was the second in a series of six regional events sponsored by Smith & Wesson. The next regional events are scheduled for the first weekend in May when both the New England and Rocky Mountain Revolver Regional will take place.

For further information on the ICORE competition season, as well as complete match results, visit www.icore.org.

About ICORE: The International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) was founded in 1991 by Mike and Sharon Higashi, long time active shooters in all the handgun sports. Envisioned as an alternative to the "arms race" that was occurring in the other action shooting sports at that time, a revolver-only competition would allow even the most basic equipment to be used and still provide enjoyment and satisfaction.