Conway caller breaks through

STUTTGART — After finishing second two consecutive years, David St. John of Conway won the World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest on Saturday at the 79th Wings Over the Prairie Festival.

St. John, who started calling competitively in 1999, has finished in the top 10 nine times, including six times in the top five. He finished second to three-time champion Brad Allen of Judsonia in 2012-13 before finally claiming the top spot Saturday.

St. John won $8,000 in cash, as well as three cases of Winchester Blind Side shotgun shells, a boat and other prizes.

It’s also the first time a competitor has won the title using an Echo duck call. Echo also gave St. John a $1,500 bonus.

“It’s unbelievable,” St. John said. “It’s everything I ever imagined it would be watching Brad go through it three times. It finally paid off.”

Finishing second was Jonathan Morton of Trumann, followed by Tyler Merritt of El Paso, Dan Goetz of St. Louis, Logan Hancock of Monticello, Phil Green of Weiner, Mike Smith of Madison, Ala., Michael Steinmeyer of Jackson, Mo., John David Stanley of Reno, Nev., Nick Patin of Sunset, La., and Rob Bevins of Belle Plain, Iowa.

St. John was a contender in the first contest he ever entered before making a critical error. Bernie Boyle, who won the championship in 2002 and 2004 and the Champion of Champions in 2005, mentored St. John and helped him develop his routine.

“He taught me some things,” St. John said. “He said my top-end hail calls were right on the money, but he said he’d put in a few low-end calls. He changed up my feed call with a different cadence, just refining things like that.”

The key to winning, St. John said, is simple. Just blow three clean routines and try to impress the judges.

“You feel it when you’re right on the money,” St. John said.

Besides the World’s Championship, there are several other calling contests during the festival. Ben Burgess of England won the Intermediate World Championship. Kelsi Mashburn of Springdale won the Women’s World Championship. Johnny Mahfouz of Springdale won the Senior World Championship. Ben Perez of Burlington, N.C., won the Chick & Sophie Major Memorial Championship. Julia Ryan of Stuttgart won the Junior Women’s World Championship, and Cody Severe of St. Joseph, Mo., won the Junior World Championship.