Grand Nationals champ Matt Van Cise wasn’t the only caller to have a big weekend at the 2013 National Wild Turkey Federation Convention. Several other performances deserve mention.
First, how about Mark Prudhomme? The versatile South Carolina caller, a Knight & Hale pro-staffer, won the Owl Hooting Championship, Gobbing Championship, Rare Breed Champion of Champions title and the Team Challenge, along with partner Kerry Terrell. That gave Prudhomme four titles in five events at the 2013 show and an incredible 17 Grand Nationals titles overall. He has five Champion of Champions titles, and if you’ve heard him kee-kee on his trumpet call, you can understand why. Rumor has it Prudhomme will go for his sixth Champion of Champions title in 2014. If he wins, that would give him one more than Chris Parrish, who has also won five.
Friction-call master Bobby Woods, of Dante, Va., beat 31 other high-level callers to take his fourth Friction Division title in eight years. Woods, a Woodhaven Custom Calls pro-staffer, said his kee-kee was his best call in the contest.
Big congrats to our good buddy Scott Ellis, of Mulberry, Fla. He topped a loaded field to win the Head-to-Head Competition. He also took fourth in the Friction division. Ellis, a Woodhaven pro-staffer, has been one of the most consistent callers in the game the past few years, and that was very evident at Nashville.
And how about the run Jesse Martin has been on the past couple of years? He won the Head-to-Head title in 2012 and finished second to Ellis in that competition this year. Also, he finished second to Van Cise in the Senior Division Finals by one point. He was third in that contest in 2012.
As usual, Chris Parrish was right there among the top callers in the world. The two-time Grand Nationals and three-time World champ placed fifth in the Senior finals in 2012 and took fourth this year.
Hunter Wallis, of Greenfield Township, Pa., won his third Grand Nationals Junior Division championship. Wallis, a Zink Calls pro-staffer, should be a calling force for years.
Finally, how about young Mike Longnecker, of Jersey Shore, Pa. Longnecker, a Hook’s Custom Calls pro-staffer, took fourth in the Head-to-Head division, second in the Owl Hooting Championship and won the Intermediate Division (16- to 20-year-olds).
Congratulations to all the great callers, I attended the NWTF Convention along with all the calling events for the very first time what an experience. It was a very humbling experience to watch and listen too how good all of the callers are. Even though I considered myself a fairly good caller I found out very quickly I have a lot of practicing to do to become remotely as good as these individuals.
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