After taking a short break from the event last year, 19-year-old Suman Sanghera returned in 2025 to reclaim her place at the Camp Perry Open as the top pistol competitor in both the Junior and Open Air Pistol events.
The 2025 Camp Perry Open indoor air rifle and air pistol event for adults and juniors was hosted by CMP at Camp Perry, Ohio, from January 17-19. This marked the first time the event had been held in January since 2020, after moving to May for the last four years.
The Camp Perry Open includes a junior three-position precision and sporter air rifle match, plus 60-shot air rifle and pistol competitions that are split into Open and Junior categories. Each event includes qualifying rounds, followed by a final to determine overall winners. In addition, team events are held concurrently.
A Champion Returns
Sanghera, who hails from Great Falls, Virginia, is a previous champion at the Camp Perry Open—having won the Junior portion of the match in 2022 and 2023, along with an overall Open win during the latter.
“Sometimes getting lost in the process is the best strategy,” she said of her performances at the 2025 Camp Perry Open. “There’s no need to put too much conscious input or too much effort into something you’ve already trained so much for. I wanted to use this as a training match to kind of see where I was at. It was a good improvement-oriented match.”
As a cognitive science major at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, her busy schedule had caused her to take a pause from competition and training. Sanghera arrived back on campus the week of the 2025 Camp Perry Open and was eager to also return to the firing line.
“It’s always great to be back. It’s that feeling that you sort of miss,” she said.
Following in second place behind Sanghera in the Open competition was Timothy Schmeltzer, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio. In addition, Nathalia Tobar, 37, of Phenix City, Alabama, finished in third place.
Tobar had an incredible showing of her own at the event—setting a new national record score of 588-22X on the second day of the qualifying round.
“I was hoping for something in the 80s, but I didn’t know it was that high,” she said with a laugh.
Tobar is an international-level athlete, but after a family tragedy, she took an extended break from competing to cope. She recently decided she was ready to get back into the range and, after leading the Camp Perry Open Super Final and achieving an outstanding score, is thrilled to see positive outcomes from her efforts.
“I had no expectations,” she said. “Since last year, things have been coming together. The hard work has been paying off.”
AMU Shooter Tops 60-Shot Rifle Open Leaderboard
In another homecoming, Sgt. Ivan Roe, 29, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit led the 60-Shot Rifle Open competition, edging out the victory over Elizabeth Schmeltzer, 26, of Sandusky, Ohio. Roe’s U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit teammate, Staff Sgt. Brandon Muske, 30, walked away from the match in third place.
This was only Roe’s second competition since representing the U.S. at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the experience of being a member of Team USA was, as he said, second-to-none. Though he brought lessons from the Olympics to Camp Perry, he was looking forward to settling into his usual competitive routines in a more familiar setting.
“I kind of just wanted to get a feel for the positions again and get used to shooting the process—doing things the right way and be less concerned about the results,” he said.
A bonus event at the Camp Perry Open is the Super Final—featuring costumes, cow bells, music and even noise makers that add excitement to the match. During the Super Final, the top 38 competitors from each day’s air rifle and air pistol qualification round meet on the firing line to compete in an elimination event. The competition goes on until only one athlete remains.
Tobar was the leading air pistol competitor, with Sanghera following in second place. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Sgt. Levi Clark bested Elizabeth Schmeltzer for the overall win in the rifle competition.
During the junior 3x20 event, Hunter Jenkins, 16, of Washington, Pennsylvania, earned the overall win in the precision category, while Bethany Shirley, 18, of Monroe, Georgia, claimed the sporter title.
You can see the full results of the 2025 Camp Perry Open at the CMP website.
