NRHEG clay target team participates in historic first-ever event
On Saturday, June 14 the NRHEG clay target team sent its top squad to the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake for the first ever MSHSL State Clay Target Tournament.
This tournament, which has been 10-plus years in the making, is the first of its kind in the nation. Twenty-four teams from across the state had to compete in individual classes to qualify for this event. In addition, about 104 individual shooters had to finish in the top 100 averages out of the 6000-plus shooters in the state for their event.
The day started with the team competition and it was not long before it was evident that weather would play a big role in the day. After just the first flight's first round of shooting was over, the sky opened up and would not stop until the day was done.The NRHEG team, consisting of Collin Christenson, Kyle Bartz (Waseca), Zach Eustice (Waseca), Tyler Logan, and Frank Altrichter, were part of the second flight. These five students were chosen from the team as they had the top five averages for the season. In the previous week, the team was able to place 10th best in qualifying scores, but this week would not be as kind to them as the team could only achieve 11th place.
"It was a tough shooting day, but all of our guys shot their average or better," said head coach Dan Sorum. "The problem is, to win the state everyone needs to shoot over their average."
Indeed, the championship team from Buffalo did just that with a score of 489 out of 500 possible.
In the effort, Kyle Bartz did shoot the first 50 of his career which followed Collin Christenson's 50 last week in Alexandria, which was the first ever for the team. Kyle ended the team competition with a school record 98 out of 100 targets hit. After the team competition, the individual competition began with Collin and Kyle representing NRHEG. But, just as the weather dampened the event in the morning, in the afternoon it sent in some strong winds and driving rain. Despite scoring a 98 in the morning, Bartz was only able to get an 85 in the afternoon and Christenson ended the day with a 90. Both scores were well out of contention for the individual title.
"Despite the disappointing finishes," noted Coach Sorum, "all of the players should be proud of their participation in this event. Clay target shooting is starting to grow in other states as they look to Minnesota as a model so it is inevitable there will be other state high school league events. But, this was the first in the nation, and they can say they were a part of it."