Mountain Lake fields trap shooting team; takes part in clay target league, state championship
As far as competitive trap shooting goes, 2014 marked a significant year in Minnesota history. Minnesota became the first state to have a state trap shooting competition sanctioned by a state high school league – the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).
This was also the first year that Mountain Lake fielded a team in the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League.
Trap shooting is the fastest growing sport in Minnesota, having grown from three schools and 30 athletes participating in 2008 – to 275 schools and 6,100 athletes competing in 2014.
Mountain Lake was excited to enter a team in the league this spring and be a part of the historic increase in participation. Each week, volunteer members of the Mountain Lake/Odin/Ormsby Sportsman’s Club would assist with practices and provide coaching to team members, along with coaches Tom Appel, Lindsey Brown and Stephen Funk.
Athletes who participated in the league shot each week for nine weeks of competition during the regular season. Mountain Lake had 38 athletes participate in the league this spring, which put them in the same class with the likes of Grand Rapids, Jordan, Hopkins and Eden Prairie – to name a few of the other schools that competed in the Class AAA State Shoot.
Members of the Mountain Lake Area Trap Shooting Team are Liana Blomgren, Caitlin Brandt, Chanah Brandt, Hunter Dahna, Tyler Dick, Alex Dunker, Anna Engstrom, Aaron Fast, Andrew Fast, Carly Fast, Josh Fast, Noah Fredericksen, Zach Fredericksen, Kenna Gardiner, Ian Glassic, Sam Grev, Dylan Hanson, Andrew Hirsch, Samuel Hirsch, Katherine Hofmann, Vince Johnson, Levi Kass, Cody Klassen, Daniel Nelson, Chandra Pfeiffer, Madelyn Regier, Nathan Regier, Caleb Rempel, Kalley Rempel, Austin Suderman, Jared Suderman, Jordan Suderman, Jacob Suess, Meredith Suess, Bridgette Swanson and Hamlock Tanyavong.
Mountain Lake had an excellent experience with the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League in their first year of involvement. Students who participated on the Mountain Lake team came from many different backgrounds and levels of experience. There were participating students from the public school, parochial school and are home-schooled. Seven members of the team completed their firearms safety training just to have the opportunity to participate in the sport. Nineteen members of the team would not have been participating in a spring sport if it were not for trap shooting. Many members of the team were also siblings or cousins, which particularly focused on the family aspect of shooting sports. The sport teaches responsibility and is an activity that can continue to be enjoyed with family members for the rest of one’s life.
Some members of the team have gained experience with trap shooting through the FFA trap league in which students have the opportunity to participate for nine weeks during the summer months. Senior trap member, Levi Kass, is one of those athletes who has participated in the FFA summer league in the past. When asked what he liked about the spring league, he said, “It is very unique because it is unlike any other sport. It is cool to see people that have never been involved go out and do very well in this sport. Hopefully it will created more hunters in the community.”
Junior athlete Daniel Nelson also participated in trap shooting this spring, and believes that the best part about the league is the camaraderie between team members. “You get to go out and enjoy time together at the trap range and encourage each each other to do well,” said Nelson.
Another thing that is great about the league is the diversity of the participating students. Freshman trap member Sam Hirsch stated, “Everyone gets the chance to succeed in this sport if they are willing to work at it.”
During the final week of the regular season, awards were handed out based on the level of achievement of the athletes. Six students earned a letter – Hunter Dahna, Josh Fast, Zach Fredericksen, Levi Kass, Cody Klassen and Caleb Rempel. The “Top Gun” award goes to the student compiling the highest season average on the team. Hunter Dahna was the male “Top Gun” recipient, and Anna Engstrom was the female “Top Gun” award winner. The final award of Most-Improved Shooter (one who continued to raise his or her average throughout the course of the season) was presented to Chandra Pfeiffer. Chandra raised her average by more than 10 points.
Alexandria hosted 3,948 students participating in the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League Championship over the course of five days, from June 6-June 10 – making it the largest trap shooting event in the world. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton even made an appearance on the opening day of the State Championship. Twelve Mountain Lake athletes participated in the State Championship shoot. For both the Junior Varsity and Varsity competitions, students shoot 50 targets in the morning and 50 targets in the afternoon to record a total score out of 100.
On the Junior Varsity team were: Andrew Fast – 77/100, Kenna Gardiner – 57/100, Sam Hirsch – 76/100, Breanna Lidtke – 57/100, Meredith Suess – 71/100, Jacob Suess – 87/100 and Hamlock Tanyavong – 86/100.
Athletes competing on the Varsity squad were: Hunter Dahna – 85/100, Josh Fast – 89/100, Aaron Fast – 82/100, Cody Klassen – 89/100 and Caleb Rempel – 88/100.
Seniors Cody Klassen and Josh Fast tied for the top score on the team and had a very impressive state shoot. Josh shot a perfect 25/25 on one of this morning rounds, and Cody shot 48/50 in the afternoon.
