Clay target teams ends its season

The NRHEG Clay Target team ended their season with a fun shoot, awards picnic, and a trip to Alexandria for the State Class 5A Championship. The weather in Alexandria was excellent this year, with light winds, comfortable temperatures, and clear skies. Twenty-four athletes from the team made the journey to compete and most of them shot at or above their average for the day. Unlike competition events which score out of 50 targets, the class championship is a 100 target event over the whole day, so it tests the athletes stamina as well as their marksmanship. At the end of the day, the team had a final score of 464 out of 500 possible points. This put them in 32nd out of 40 possible teams to qualify for the MSHSL State Tournament, but by the end of the 7A rounds on Sunday, the team had been eliminated.

 

Individually, Aaron Merritt and Hailey Staska were our top male and female Novice level shooters. Clayton Kaplan was our top JV shooter. For the Varsity Justin Beauvais, Reese Routh, Alden Dobberstein, and Brody Mudgett all had the top male score (Reese had the longest reverse run.), and Gracie Luna was our top female shooter. The different levels are determined by the athletes individual season average.

 

Prior to the shoot, the team also held their Fun Shoot & Awards Picnic. Letter winners were announced. The team presented trophies to those athletes who finished in the Top 25 for Conference averages. Out of the 40 members of the team, 11 were in the Top 25 for either the male or female category. Keira Lenort had the top average for the ladies with Gracie Luna right behind her in 2nd. Also in the final Top 25 Female Conference Averages were Faith Phillips, Abbie Viktora, Nora Flatness, and Ciara Stenzel. The Top 25 Male Averages included Keegan Peterson, Reese Routh, Alden Dobberstein, Dylan Schroht, and Brody Mudgett. The team scholarship was awarded to seniors, Reese Routh and Keira Lenort. The scholarship is based on leadership, community service, academics, and overall character. The season's Top Gun award was presented to Dylan Schroht for his team leading average and the Most Improved Shooter award was given to Clayton Kaplan who improved his average per round by 7 targets over the course of the season.

 

The team wants to take this time to thank all of our sponsors who allow the team to provide opportunities to these athletes. Diamond Level; Hartland Firefighters Relief Association. Platinum Level; Olson Excavating of Hartland. Gold Level; Broskoff Structures of Geneva, Dobberstein Backhoe of New Richland, Fastenal of Owatonna, Good Steward Consulting of Albert Lea, L&D Ag Service of Hartland. Silver Level; Keen Bank of Waseca, Sellers Lock & Key of Austin, Sorenson's Appliance & TV of Geneva, T&M Electric of Waseca. Bronze Level; Culligan Water of Waseca, Floors 4-U of Ellendale, and Krause Feeds & Supplies of Hope. We thank the Waseca Pheasants Forever Chapter for hosting our team raffle. We thank the Owatonna Gun Club for being our home for 14 seasons. We thank our coaches who take their time to teach the safety, fun, and skill that is part of our sport. Finally, we thank all of the parents, family members, and community members that show their support to this team in their own way.