Athletes from 123 teams across Iowa converged on the Iowa State Trapshooting Homegrounds north of Cedar Falls June 6-11 for the 2023 Scholastic Clay Target Program State Trap Shooting Championship.
More than 3,000 athletes from 4th grade through high school shot nearly 780,000 clay targets for the week. Athletes competed in three different competitions: singles trap, doubles trap, and handicap trap. Ankeny Centennial Jaguars were the top varsity squad in singles and doubles, while the Wilton Trap Team were varsity squad champions in handicap trap. Individual honors are also awarded by age group for each discipline. A complete list of the results can be found online at https://app.sssfonline.com/nationals/3722.
The All-State team for singles trap is determined by the combination of the athlete’s league score and the Championship Event Score. The All-State Teams are below.
Ladies Singles Trap - All State Team
- Lacey Gangwish, Underwood Youth Trap Team, Captain
- Brooke O’Connor Ankeny Hawks Shooting Sports
- Clare Finney, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports
- Jaden Rydl, Gilbert Clay Commanders
- Addison McGehearty, Mt. Pleasant Panthers
- Morgan Hodge, Wilton Trap Team
Men’s Singles Trap - All State Team
- Matthew Eilers, Pleasant Valley High School Trap Team, Captain
- Izaac Zihlman, Mt. Pleasant Panthers
- Lodden Axtell, Wilton Trap Team
- Noah Simon, Bettendorf Bulldog Trap Team
- Drew Crump, Don Bosco Trap Team
- Cole Henning, Wilton Trap Team
The Scholastic Clay Target Program is the largest, fastest growing, and most exciting youth clay target program in the U.S. Student athletes from elementary through high school and college have the opportunity to compete in sports such as trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines like bunker trap and international skeet.
The SCTP is a youth development program, first and foremost and we do this through the shooting sports and competitive shooting. The SCTP’s mission is to help kids reach their highest potential in becoming the best athletes and young adults they can be. For more information on the Scholastic Clay Target Program in Iowa, contact Chris Van Gorp, DNR Shooting Sports Coordinator at 515-313-8048 or chris.vangorp@dnr.iowa.gov.