CLAYTON, Mo. (February 23, 2026) — Anthony I. Matarese, Jr., came to Okeechobee with something to prove, and he left with hardware to show for it.
The veteran sporting-clays competitor put together a three-event stretch at the 2026 Jack Link’s Cup that would be difficult for anyone in the field to match. He won the Winchester Cup with a 98 out of 100, claimed the FITASC Championship at 97 out of 100 and finished runner-up in the Super Sporting Prelim with 96 out of 100. For the Winchester Cup win alone, Matarese earned a $2,000 payout. By the time he packed up and left Quail Creek Sporting Ranch, his total take for the week sat at $9,546.56.
It was that kind of tournament for Team Winchester and Team White Flyer. Across a field of nearly 1,700 competitors representing all 50 states and 14 countries, they combined for 12 top finishes over the six-day event, held February 10-15 at Quail Creek Sporting Ranch in Okeechobee, Florida.
Team Winchester and Team White Flyer Shine
If Matarese was the headliner, Mike Wilgus was the most versatile performer of the week. The reigning 2025 NSCA National Sporting Clays Champion posted top results in three different events, finishing as the Prelim runner-up and Prelim Veteran Champion with a 97 out of 100, third in FITASC Veteran with 89 out of 100 and fourth in Five-Stand Veteran at 88 out of 100. At the 2026 Jack Link’s Cup, the volume and consistency of Wilgus’s week stood out.
Connor Daniel delivered one of the more impressive individual results of the tournament, winning the FITASC Junior Championship outright with a 93 out of 100.
Desi Edmunds put together a steady week on the women’s side, collecting three top finishes—third in the Winchester Cup Lady division at 89 out of 100, fourth in FITASC Lady with 88 out of 100 and fourth in the Prelim at 84 out of 100. It was the kind of across-the-board showing that rarely gets the spotlight but speaks to real depth.
Kayla Wilgus added a fourth-place finish in Super Sporting Lady with 91 out of 100, while Kevin Demichel turned in a 98 out of 100 in Super Sporting to finish fourth overall in one of the tournament’s most competitive fields.
Early-Season Sporting-Clays Momentum
The Jack Link’s Cup has become one of the premier early-season tests on the NSCA calendar, and for the Team Winchester and Team White Flyer contingent, the week in Okeechobee offered exactly the kind of start you want heading into the heart of the 2026 season—top-to-bottom production, with contributions from veterans and younger shooters alike.
Full results from the 2026 Jack Link’s Cup sporting-clays tournament are available at the Score Chaser website.
Learn more about Team Winchester and Winchester Ammunition at winchester.com. For the latest from White Flyer, go to whiteflyer.com.
