Henriques. - file

National representative Orville Henriques easily topped a local field of 16 shooters at the Manchester Rifle and Pistol Club (MRPC) championships on the weekend, in a competition which featured action in the standard division using popular Carry-On firearms.

Henriques, who recently competed for Jamaica at the IPSC World Shoot in Greece, was in awesome form as he topped all six stages of the contest, shooting his way to maximum 420 points and 100 per cent accuracy. The stages were designated 'Field of Steel', 'Bend Down', 'Everywhere', 'Run Dem Down', 'Round the Bend' and 'Tunnel'; two of the fields were adapted from Greece.

There was good fan support and although the weight of expectancy was clearly tipped towards Henriques, who has been unbeaten on home turf all season, his dominance on Sunday did little to affect the enthusiasm of the other competitors during the two-hour contest.

The nearest placed shooter was female contestant Sue Ann Henriques, who placed second in three of the stages and tallied 272.5 points for an overall 64.5 per cent. Third place went to MRPC teammate David 'Bull' McMorris who registered a top-three finish in three of the stages to tally 231 points and 55.12 per cent.

According to Henriques his elevation to a national representative has made him more motivated to deliver on the local scene.

"I didn't want to relax because the people came out to see what level I had reached and I am fairly satisfied I was able to perform," Henriques told Star Sports.

He also said that his consistency was important to motivate other local shooters, who he believes have the talent but merely lack exposure and a strict competitive regiment.

"As always when we host these events, it's amazing how much improvement you see from these shooters. I am just blessed at this stage with the experience and that is why I encourage them to come out and join the program at MRPC."

The club will now turn its attention to the final of the National Street Gun championships next month. A final contest similar to Sunday's will close out the year in December.