Tennessee Youth Trapshooting Teams Claim Two National Championships

Tennessee teams claimed a pair of national championships and added a third place finish in impressive performances at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Trapshooting Championships.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) supports the SCTP in many facets. The SCTP was launched by NSSF and is run in Tennessee by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Tennessee has the largest membership in the nation in SCTP and the program offers students in grades 5-12 an opportunity to compete as a team in trap, skeet, sporting clays and the international versions of trap and skeet.

The Tennessee champions came from the Chester County Smokin’ Eagles in the Rookie Division and by the Arlington Trappers in the Junior Varsity Division. The third place finish went to the Hoodlum Ally Claybusters, also in the Rookie Division. Tennessee sent over 300 shooters to the competition, representing 54 teams from across the Volunteer State.

The Chester County Smokin’ Eagles rolled to their Rookie Division title out-distancing the competition by 47 targets to win their second-straight national title. Dalton Mitchell of Luray, Blake Carnell of Henderson, Cole Lawrence, Brandon Hughes of Reagan, and Jake Williams of Beech Bluff combined for a score of 919.

“For the past two days, they’ve been pretty nervous because they really wanted to repeat,” said coach Janice Cooper of Henderson. It’s just awesome. I’ve got three kids back from last year and two new ones, and all of them just stepped up. They all will move up to intermediate division next year,”

The Arlington Trappers, won the Junior Varsity Division championship by edging the second-place finisher from Alabama by only a single target. Combining for a score of 965 were Cody Cochran (Arlington), Brandon Barker (Arlington), Taylor Garrison of Bartlett, Curtis Robinson of Arlington, and Keaton Irving of Arlington.

“Through the state, regionals, and now nationals, this team has continued to improve,” said coach Kermit Simons of Arlington. “I’m just really proud of them,” I brought three squads here and all of them improved their scores. This is a great day for Tennessee SCTP.”

The Hoodlum Alley Claybusters finished with a score of 818. Shooting for the Claybusters were Vincent Caldwell (Shelbyville), James Haithcote (Unionville), Chase Smith (Shelbyville), Matthew Townes (Shelbyville), and James Anthony of Shelbyville).

In addition to the championships won, Ethan Campbell of Middle Tennessee Christian in Murfreesboro and Blake Triplet of Henry County from Puryear each posted near perfect scores of 199.

“We are incredibly proud of our Tennessee shooters and coaches,” said Chad Whittenburg, Tennessee SCTP Director. “We feel that Tennessee is the No. 1 youth shooting sports state in the U.S., and we intend to build upon these successes. Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State and I can tell you without the tremendous volunteer coaches and leadership of Tennessee SCTP, these results would not be possible.” Competition was held in four divisions Aug. 6-7 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Ill. More than 1,600 youths from 29 states competed. The youth events kicked off the 108th annual Grand American World Trapshooting Championships that is held thru Aug. 18.

“These young shooters not only competed against SCTP teams from around the country, they battled through wind, heat and nerves, and still put up impressive scores. In fact, over 300 shooters broke 190 or better out of 200 targets,” said Zach Snow of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which coordinates SCTP at the national level.

In addition to the awards presented by NSSF at the SCTP National Trapshooting Championships, TWF and Tennessee SCTP will present the Rudy Cup for the best overall shooter performance and four $1,000 scholarships to each of the top senior shooters from the four Tennessee SCTP regions.

Results
SCTP National Trapshooting Championships
(held Aug. 6-7, World Shooting and Recreational Complex, Sparta, Ill.)

Junior Varsity Division (Grades 9-12)

1. Tennessee—Arlington Trappers, 965 (Cody Cochran of Arlington, Brandon Barker of Arlington, Taylor Garrison of Bartlett, Curtis Robinson of Arlington, Keaton Irving of Arlington).
2. Alabama—Waterfall Valley Claybusters, 964
3. Nebraska—Oak Creek 4-H Seniors, 961

Rookie Division (Grades 5 and under)

1. Tennessee—Chester County Smokin’ Eagles, 919 (Dalton Mitchell of Luray, Blake Carnell of Henderson, Cole Lawrence, Brandon Hughes of Reagan, Jake Williams of Beech Bluff).
2. Ohio—The Sportsman’s Club Clay Crushers, 872
3. Tennessee—Hoodlum Alley Claybusters, 818 (Vincent Caldwell of Shelbyville, James Haithcote of Unionville, Chase Smith of Shelbyville, Matthew Townes of Shelbyville, James Anthony of Shelbyville).