Gage O’Connor from the Ankeny Hawks Shooting Sports Team hit 200 straight clay targets at the State Trap Shoot the first week of June, besting all other shooters. But in the end his effort was not enough to hold off the varsity squad from North Scott who had the high squad score, hitting 985 out of 1,000 targets by their five person team.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources serves as the state advisor for the Scholastic Clay Target Program in Iowa, and hosts the Iowa State Championship Clay Target Events.
In 2019, there were more than 4,200 student athletes on over 150 teams registered with the Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program. These youth shotgun teams completed a three week tour of Iowa last weekend to attend the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Championship events. Iowa athletes competed in Singles Trap, Doubles Trap, Handicap Trap, Sporting Clays, and Skeet. All results can be found at http://sssfonline.org.
- More than 2,700 athletes from fourth grade through high school competed at the SCTP Trap Championships June 5-9, at the Iowa State Trapshooting Association Homegrounds north of Cedar Falls. The number of entries into the three disciplines increased by more than 500 versus 2018. During the five day period, competitors shot nearly 670,000 clay targets.
- The Mahaska County Izaak Walton League hosted 250 competitors from 25 teams at the 2019 Sporting Clays Championship June 15-16. Participants in sporting clays shoot 200 targets from 15 stations simulating hunting scenarios. Attendance in 2019 was up 15 percent.
- Championship events concluded with a record number of participants – 254 - competing at the New Pioneer Gun Club in Waukee for the SCTP Skeet Championships June 21-23. In the Men’s Varsity Division, Maclane Heinen, from Pella Christian, and Thomas Keeshan, from North Scott, both ended competition with a score of 149 out of 150. Keeshan won in a shoot-off.
Overall, during the championship events, nearly 744,000 clay targets were shot by 2,800 athletes. Athletes who compete at the State Championships are eligible to attend the SCTP National Championships on July 13-20 at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio.