From March 1st to March 3rd, the Hillsdale College Shotgun Team competed in the ACUI/SCTP Spring Central Midwest Conference Championships at Prairie Grove Shotgun Sports Complex in Columbia, MO. The event consisted of 100 of each American Trap, American Skeet, and Sporting Clays along with 50 of each Trap Doubles, Skeet Doubles, and Super Sporting. Over 180 participants from 16 schools were in attendance. Down two top scorers (senior Ida Brown and sophomore Jordan Sapp, both of whom were representing the United States at the CAT Games in the Dominican Republic) and dealing with an abundance of facility troubles, the Chargers pulled through and earned a variety of individual and team accolades.
The team began shooting Friday with Trap Doubles. Dealing with near-freezing temperatures and inconsistent targets, they posted a total score of 231/250 placing them second behind Lindenwood University and above University of Tennessee Southern. Contributors included senior Jackson Sokel (47/50), freshman Luke Johnson (47/50), junior Gavin Drill (46/50), junior Joshua Corbin (46/50), and senior William Stuart (45/50). Senior Jessie Strasser earned 1st place in the women's category after breaking 45 targets.
Next up on Friday was Skeet Doubles. The squad of junior Kyle Fleck (50/50), Josh Corbin (49/50), freshman Madeline Corbin (48/50), Sokel (48/50), and freshman Ava Downs (47/50) scored a total of 242/250 and again took second place behind Lindenwood and above UT Southern. Fleck and Madeline Corbin finished with the silver individual medals after shootoffs with Downs earning women's bronze.
The Chargers began Saturday with American Skeet and shot a team score of 490/500, just two targets behind first place Lindenwood. Hillsdale's top score was Sokel who broke 99 targets out of 100. Madeline Corbin earned women's second with 98/100. Also contributing were sophomores Davis Hay and Leif Andersen with 98s and Josh Corbin with 97.
Hillsdale finished the day with Sporting Clays. Joshua Corbin, Stuart, Johnson, Andersen, and junior Jonathan Calabrese shot scores of 94, 93, 90, 90, and 89 respectively for a team total of 456/500. This again earned them second place in the event, this time by just five targets. Corbin earned men's second after a shootoff and Strasser's 87/100 earned her first in the women's category.
Sunday brought high winds and challenging conditions all around. Hillsdale finished third in American Trap with a total of 486/500 with scores contributed by Hay (99), freshman Alex Hoffman (97), Joshua Corbin (97), Sokel (97), and junior Gavin Drill (96).
The Chargers also ended up in third in Super Sporting. Stuart led the way after breaking 46 out of 50 targets closely followed by Joshua Corbin's 45. Rounding out the group were Johnson (43), Andersen (42), and Madeline Corbin (42) for a total of 218/250. Madeline Corbin and Downs took home the silver and bronze medals respectively in the women's categories. Due to the long, late drive home, Hillsdale missed the shootoffs for the final day (Skeet, Trap, Super Sporting), and their individual placements in those events may have been affected by that.
Hillsdale earned second place Team High Overall with a total score of 2123/2250. The 14 Charger athletes were beaten only by Lindenwood and their 30 competitors. Joshua Corbin finished second in Men's High Overall after breaking 428 targets out of a possible 450. Other Hillsdale shooters in the top 10 were William Stuart (6th, 422), Davis Hay (t-8th, 415), and Luke Johnson (t-8th, 415). Madeline Corbin earned second women's HOA with 404 and Ava Downs was third with 398. Jessie Strasser finished tied for seventh women's HOA.
"This was a challenging shoot for a multitude of reasons, but it was a great exercise to prepare for Nationals" said head coach Jordan Hintz. "The team held their heads high through the field malfunctions and I'm very proud of that. Every team's scores were low, so comparing how we did with how the rest of the competitors shot, we are right where we have been all year. We are ready to give everything we've got in Texas."
8 Chargers travel next week to compete in the USA Shooting Olympic Trials Part 2 in Tucson, AZ. From there, all 16 athletes will be in San Antonio for the biggest match of the year: the ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target Championships held at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, TX.
Results: https://app.sssfonline.com/results/team/836
High Overall
2nd Team, 2123/2250
Joshua Corbin - 3rd Men's, 428/450
Madeline Corbin - 2nd Women's, 404/450
Ava Downs - 3rd Women's, 398/450
Doubles Trap
2nd Team, 231/250
Jessica Strasser - 1st Women's, 45/50
Doubles Skeet
2nd Team, 242/250
Kyle Fleck - 2nd Men's, 50/50
Madeline Corbin - 2nd Women's, 48/50
Ava Downs - 3rd Women's, 47/50
Skeet
2nd Team, 490/500
Madeline Corbin - 3rd Women's, 98/100
Sporting Clays
2nd Team, 456/500
Joshua Corbin - 2nd Men's, 94/100
Jessica Strasser - 1st Women's, 87/100
Trap
3rd Team, 486/500
Super Sporting
3rd Team, 218/250
Madeline Corbin - 2nd Women's, 42/50
Ava Downs - 3rd Women's, 40/50