NASHVILLE, N.C.—Young skeet shooters from across North Carolina earned state titles—with many qualifying to represent North Carolina at upcoming national championships—at the recent Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) North Carolina Skeet State Championship.
The competition, held June 28 at Rose Hill Farm Quail Preserve in Nashville, featured some of North Carolina’s top young shooters in five divisions: varsity, junior varsity, intermediate advanced, intermediate entry and rookie.
SCTP, for youths in grades 12 and under, is a program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation managed in partnership with the national governing bodies for shooting sports: USA Shooting, Amateur Trapshooting Association, National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association.
With remarkable growth over the past eight years, the program is considered “the Little League of shooting sports.” Some 8,000 to 9,000 students from over 45 states are expected to compete this year.
North Carolina teams participating in the state title shoot qualified for the SCTP National Championships July 31-Aug. 5 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Ill.
The best of these young shooters could be selected to attend an Olympic development camp in Colorado Springs, and some will go on to compete at the collegiate level.
For more information, visit the SCTP website.
RESULTS
SCTP North Carolina Skeet State Championship (held June 28, Rose Hill Farm Quail Preserve, Nashville, N.C.)
Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1st Place—Fort Bragg Rangers, 288 out of 300 targets (Garrett Barbour of Willow Springs, Grant Rosser of Sanford, Taylor Tew of Bath).
2nd Place—Not awarded.
3rd Place—Not awarded.
Junior Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1st Place—Morganton Clay Shooters, Skeeters, 255 out of 300 targets (Matthew Crotts of Valdese, Elizabeth Deal of Morganton, Landon Reece of Morganton).
2nd Place—Fort Bragg Rangers, 241 (Zachary McNeill of Goldston, Jeffrey Spence Jr. of Benson, Caleb Weaver of Angier).
3rd Place—Not awarded.
Intermediate Advanced Division (grades 6-8)
1st Place—Gaston Young Guns, Bulldogs, 265 out of 300 targets (Jacob Mauney of Gastonia, Michael Digh of Lincolnton, Jonathan Leonard of Dallas).
2nd Place—Not awarded.
3rd Place—Not awarded.
Intermediate Entry Division (grades 6-8)
1st Place—Morganton Clay Shooters, Skeeters, 265 out of 300 targets (Andrew Burgess of Morganton, Matthew Pearson of Conover, Blake Rigdon of Morganton).
2nd Place—Gaston Young Guns, Bulldogs 2, 246 (Megan Avery of Crouse, Wade Newman of Gastonia, Alex Eakins of Matthews).
3rd Place—Gaston Young Guns, Bulldogs 3, 218 (Michael Graves of Dallas, Dillon Lewis of Mt. Holly, Jacob Turner of Bessemer City).
Rookie Division (grades 5 and under)
1st Place—Morganton Clay Shooters, Skeeters 1, 226 out of 300 targets (Noah Clark of Morganton, Hunter Drum of Hickory, Andrew Roland of Lenoir).
2nd Place—Morganton Clay Shooters, Skeeters 3, 150 (Edward Redman of Morganton).
3rd Place—Not awarded.
