Christiansen hits 49 of 50 targets
Week two of competition still saw less-than-desirable weather as the shooters from the NRHEG team faced strong winds.
But, the team would not be deterred as they turned in better scores than week one and as a result turned a 698-point deficit to the team from Faribault into an 892 lead. It's still a small lead in a conference where the top teams score in excess of 11,000 points.
Leading the team was Collin Christiansen of NRHEG by scoring a near perfect 49/50. He was followed closely by Kyle Bartz of Waseca with a 47/50. Both find themselves in the top 100 shooters in the state, which means they are both on track to qualify as individuals for the MSHSL State Clay Target Tournament. They were also the only two NRHEG shooters in the top 10 for the conference as fifth-place Wayzata placed five shooters in the top 10 including two shooters with perfect rounds of 50. However, Wayzata lacks the depth thus far to be a leader in the conference.
"You need 52 scores each week," said NRHEG coach Dan Sorum. "That's one of the factors that makes this sport so fun. There are no bench players. If you can not put up 52 solid scores, your team will not be competitive."
That number is derived from the average size of the teams in the conference. Thus, conferences with smaller teams use fewer scores each week and the largest teams use more. Conferences and the classes they occupy are formed by team size vs the typical method of using school size. NRHEG shooters in the conference top 25 include Christiansen (3rd) and Bartz (5th) as well as Tory Christiansen (NRHEG), Zachary Eustice (Waseca), Tanner Alfson (Albert Lea), Noah Alinder (Waseca), Alex Romer (Albert Lea), and Cordelll Peterson (NRHEG) for the males and Morgan Phillips of Albert Lea in the female group.
Week three competition is Wednesday, May 11 at 4 p.m. at the Owatonna Gun Club south of Hope. Spectators are welcome.
Class 7A - Conference 3
Team Name Total Points
NRHEG High School 25112
Faribault High School 4230.5
Austin High School 2552.5
Park High School 22148
Wayzata High School 21859.5
White Bear Lake 21011.5
East Ridge High School 20332.5
Simley High School 16225.5