Barbara Lawlor, Carson City, NV.  Emmit Hoyl of Rollinsville went to Carson City, Nevada on Saturday, Halloween, and frightened some of the hand drilling competitors with his bulging biceps and formidable forearms so terribly that he drilled his way to win the 2015 World Championship.

He wanted this one, wanted to regain his title of World Champion after having fallen short in 2014 with a second place finish.

It was a close competition, but close doesn’t count in hand drilling. Hoyl drilled to a depth of 13 28/32” only 3/32” deeper than defending champion Tom Donavan of Reno NV.

“Thats only a couple of strokes of the hammer,” says Hoyl. “But it’s deep enough. I am very proud to bring the title back to Colorado where it belongs.”

This is Hoyl’s 5th World Championship title. Tom Donanvan holds the record for the most wins at nine world titles and that means Hoyl has five more to win, and he plans on doing it.

He missed first place the last couple of years due to a nagging bicep injury as well as a traumatic incident when a piece of his hammer shot into an artery of his arm back in 2011 causing him to loose a liter of blood before calling it quits at the request of a doctor in the crowd who said he would die if he didn’t stop.

But he didn’t let that hold him back this year at the Nevada Day Single Jack World Championship.

“It feels great to hold on to the title for another year, and I plan on defending it throughout the state competitions next year.”

Hoyl grew up in Rollinsville and went to England to learn the blacksmith trade. He makes his own steels and is a member of the Timberline Fire Protection District. He and his wife organized and ran the 2015 Miners’ Days Contests in Nederland.