The Varsity Shooting Team took a six-man squad to the recent Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Championships (www.shootsctp.org), grabbing HOA (High Overall) National titles in Handicap Trap and Trap Doubles, as well as Runner-Up in Sporting Clays, Third in Trap and Fourth in Skeet.
More than 2,500 high school and collegiate athletes competed at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Morango, Ohio, in the biggest-ever SCTP Nationals. JU’s shooters, consisting of Sean Hensley (former Captain), Trysten Routledge, Parker Woodring, Nathan Heeb, Benji Felder and Joe Byron, faced off against a bevy of powerhouse collegiate shooting talent.
The success in Ohio comes fresh on the heels of JU Varsity Shooting grabbing two Gold, two Silver and three Bronze medals at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) National Clay Target Championships in San Antonio. More than 600 collegiate athletes from 75 universities attended that event March 28-April 3, competing in six different events: Sporting, 5-Stand Sporting, American Skeet, American Trap, International Skeet and International Wobble.
Last summer, the team earned four SCTP national titles, in Sporting Clays, Handicap Trap, Trap Doubles and Skeet Doubles. The JU team is now an eight-time National (Divisional) Event Champion, with two individual National (HOA) Champions, noted Head Coach David Dobson.
“Collegiate shooters have six years of eligibility to compete in the ACUI and SCTP systems from the time of their first Nationals event, regardless of collegiate or graduate level, making this the most competitive system in existence today,” he said. “We congratulate all of our amazing students.”
There are some 300 universities and colleges with Clay Sports (Shotgun Sports) shooting programs across the country, and these programs boast some of the highest GPA composites in the collegiate world. The shooting sports are now the fastest-growing element in collegiate Club/Varsity sports.
For more information about the JU Varsity Shooting Team, click here or contact David Dobson at ddobson1@ju.edu.