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Pecatonica, New Glarus shoot in clay target national championship
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New Glarus (pictured) and Pecatonica trap teams participated in the Clay Shooting High School League National Championship in Mason, Michigan July 5-9.

MASON, Mich. — Members of the Pecatonica and New Glarus clay shooting teams traveled to Mason, Michigan for the High School Clay Target League National Championship July 5-9. The event brings in 3,000 of the best trap shooters in the nation.

“When we started our team in 2022, the national competition was a dream somewhere on the horizon,” Pecatonica coach Melissa Leonard. “So, when I opened the email stating we had a Tier 1 invite, I had goosebumps.”

Pecatonica was one of 240 teams to qualify and one of 37 teams from Wisconsin. The team consisted of Dallas Havens, Karter Schlafli, Kyeton Kolb, Cole Peterson and Levi Krebs. The Vikings finished 188th with a team score of 434.

Havens and Schlafli led the squad with scores of 96 and 90, respectively. Kolb hit 89 of 100 targets, while Peterson tallied an 83. Krebs rounded out the squad with a 76. Havens and Kolb were of 509 that shot 25 straight targets.

Schlafli also qualified as one of over 1,700 individuals. In the individual portion, he hit 83 of 100 targets, taking 1,507th. 

“It is easy to reflect and know we didn’t shoot our best because nerves got the best of us, but we still had 25 straight scores,” Leonard said. “The success we have had as a young team and a new team is only possible because of the support his group has had.”

New Glarus sent five individuals — Nolan Yaun, Isaac Zimmerman, Thomas Rabel, Reagan Mimetz and Patrick Sheridan. Yaun led the Knights with a score of 94, hitting 25 straight targets. His performance garnered 542nd.

“It was some of the best shooting I have ever seen,” New Glarus coach Damian Mimetz said. “To put Nolan’s score into perspective, there were 21 perfect rounds of 100, 42 rounds of 99 and 337 rounds of 95 to 98. Nolan just started shooting this year, so the sky is the limit.”

Zimmerman shot an 83, followed by Rabel with an 82. Reagan Mimetz hit 81 of 100 targets, while Sheridan recorded a score of 68.

The top 400 individual athletes and 80 teams advanced to the final day. Landon Sievers of Calhoun High School in Illinois was the individual champion, shooting a perfect 100 and 19 in a shoot off. Calhoun was the top team, with a team score of 494 — missing just six total targets.