Port St Mary continued to tighten their grip on the Division One title in Isle of Man Rifle Association’s Winter League last week with a 481-472 victory over local rivals Castletown, despite missing several regular shooters.

Leading the way was Ben Kelly with 97, while Joseph Proffitt was the standout junior on the night, forcing his way into the Division One team with an impressive 96, his winter league personal-best.

Meanwhile, for the visitors, Ian Arthur and Nigel Christian topped the Castletown scoresheet with 95 apiece.

Laxey secured the Division One points away at Sandsiders, running out 478–452 winners.

Harry Creevy and Adrian Cowin both posted 97s for the travelling side but, despite the defeat, Sandsiders’ Jean Quaye produced the top score of the match with an outstanding 99.

However, the home side took the Division Two points on the strength of numbers.

Douglas also enjoyed success on the road, recording a solid win against Kirk Michael, with Dave Kneale and Dave Humphrey sharing top honours on 96.

Port St Mary v Castletown

Ben Kelly 97 Ian Arthur 95

Paul Clague 96 Nigel Christian 95

Callum Grant 96 Steve Gardner 94

Luke Ennett 96 Richard Arthur 94

Joseph Proffitt (Jr) 96 Duncan Watterson 94

Total 481 472

Sandsiders v Laxey

Jean Quaye 99 Harry Creevy 97

Steve Callus 95 Adrian Cowin 97

Ian Kneale 88 John Wood 96

Phil Kneen 85 Gemma Kermode 95

Kath Barrett 85 Mark Riley 93

452 478

Kirk Michael v Douglas

Jason Brown 94 Dave Kneale 96

Suzanne McKnight 93 Dave Humphrey 96

Richard Kijak 93 Mark Osborn 95

Perryn Watson 92 Christian Eaton 94

Sam Jones 93

372 474

Port St Mary v Castletown

Les Crowe 95 John Brewis 92

Derek Kermode 92 JP Bridson 92

Bree Cubbon (Jr) 92 Robin McFee 92

Kevan Kneale 91 Rhian Masson 92

Ean Brewis 91 Neil Masson 90

461 458

Sandsiders v Laxey

Terry Green 78 Andrew Jessop 92

Julie Quaye 76 Stephen Curphey 87

Joseph Kneale (Jr) 67

221 179

DIVISION THREE

Port St Mary v Castletown

Freddie Sime (Jr) 90 Andrew Bell 90

Hayden East (Jr) 89 Charles Carter 88

James Kennaugh (Jr) 85 Connor O’Kelly 86

Sophie Weldon (Jr) 83

347 264

With the Winter League pausing for Christmas, Port St Mary can take comfort from maintaining their advantage at the top of Division One.

Castletown missed the chance to beat the defending champions while they were short-handed, but still pushed them close in Division Two.

- If you would like to try your hand at target shooting, Castletown Rifle Club is always keen to welcome new members.

The club’s range is located at Castletown Stadium on Malew Road, with club nights held on Thursdays. For more information, email [email protected]

JP BRIDSON