The 1998 Steel Challenge was a great success, with new records being set on several stages. Congratulations are in order for Jerry Barnhart, who once again showed his mastery of this tournament. It was no easy task, as several shooters were in the running early on. It appeared that Jojo Vidanes was going to take the gold, but he left the door open just a little on the Winchester Outer Limits stage. Jerry dug down deep and came in third on this stage to pull out the victory.

There were lots of great stories at this match. Rob Leatham decided to shoot a Limited Gun and came very close to winning it all. He finished 3rd Overall and won the Hellweg LTD. Speed Option Stage. Cathy Levanza came all the way from the Philippines to win Top Lady and finished a very impressive 12th Overall. K.C. Eusebio, only 10 years old, not only won the Pre-Teen Division, but came in 16th Overall. This was an amazing feat and coupled with Pre-Teen Izak Arida's 30th Overall finish, the adults better watch out next year.

The IDPA Division had numerous entries this year, which saw such notables  as Ted Bonnet, Ernest Langdon & Tom Yost do very well. Ted came in 21st Overall,leading the way for the stock guns.

Everyone was treated to a Fast Draw demonstration by World Record Holder Cal
Eilrich. This was performed immediately prior to the Friday night B-B-Q and was a crowd pleaser indeed. Many thanks to Cal for a great show.

The Tasco PROpoint Team vs. Team Shoot Off provided the usual exciting finale to a great tournament. The top 32 Overall finishers paired up in a single elimination ladder. Doug Koenig and Chad Dietrich won the event and put up some great times. However, a great crowd pleaser was to see Brian Enos, a long time Grand Master and winner of the Bianchi Invitational, paired up with Pre-Teen winner K.C. Eusebio. They advanced to the Semi-finals and put on quite a show. The crowd roared and cheered as they advanced through the competition.

Also of note, was the media coverage, as three newspapers were on hand to give very positive coverage of the match. One paper plastered their story on the front page of the Sports Section. Very nice to see. TNN°s American Shooter was on hand to film the entire match and it will be aired on Saturday September 26 and again on December 26. We have been told that the entire program will be coverage of the Steel Challenge.

This is the beginning of what we hope will be very positive coverage of a match that was originally designed for the benefit of the media. Those in attendance and all of our wonderful Sponsors (Please see our huge Sponsor page for names and computer links) have helped to make this all possible. Now more than ever, we must move our sport forward and take advantage of every media opportunity that becomes available.

Next year's tournament is planned for August 20-22, 1999. We have reduced the match from four to three days and hope to have several other surprises to announce in the near future. If you would like to be a competitor or Sponsor in next year's tournament and wish to be added to our mailing list, please email or write us with your questions and your address.