ELYSBURG The beat goes on.
For the past two years, shooters from the Warren County Scholastic Trap League have brought home two state championships. This year was a similar story, they won three.
On Saturday, June 9, at the Valley Gun and Country Club in Elysburg, the Whiteflyer Claybusters captured first place in the AIM (Academics, Integrity and Marksmanship) Junior Gold (Graduate) Division by hitting a combined 487 out of 500 targets.
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AIMing for first
The Whiteflyer Claybusters pose after taking first place in the AIM (Academics, Integrity and Marksmanship) Junior Gold Division on Saturday, June 9, at the Valley Gun and Country Club in Elysburg, PA. From left to right: Dalton Sipes, Ethan Black, Colton Black, Jamie Morton, Colby Case.
Led by shooters who have won state titles before, Colton Black, from Eisenhower, led the way by hitting 99 out of 100 targets. Ethan Black (EHS), Dalton Sipes (Corry) and Colby Chase (Youngsville) each hit 98, while Jamie Morton (Corry) hit 94.
The very next day, both the Whiteflyer Claybusters' Senior Division and Junior Varsity teams won state championships of their own in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) .
A total of 20 teams competed in the Senior Varsity division and the Warren County Claybusters still managed to come away with both first and second place.
Ethan Black, the top shooter at last year's competition, led the first-place team, hitting a perfect 100 out of 100 targets. Sipes and Sawyer Dininny (Youngsville) each hit 99, and Michael McDunn (Warren) and Jon Shelton (EHS) hit 97. The team combined to hit a staggering total of 492 targets.
Warren County's second-place team did well, hitting 485. Braden McClain (Corry), Ashley Walton (Corry), and Sam Lucas (Youngsville) all hit 98 targets to lead the way.
Warren's JV Claybusters team capped off the trifecta of state titles by hitting 459 targets. They were led by Sheffield's Travis Peterson, who hit 95 targets. Ricky Prosen (Sheffield) hit 93, Brady Carl (Warren) hit 91, and Michael Darling (Youngsville) and Zach Anderson (Sheffield) each hit 90.
The Pine Grove Senior Scholastic team also had strong finishes in several competitions, placing third in the AIM event with Drew Lobdell (97X100), Mark Cecco (95), Jake Park (93), Nathen Kupchella (92), and Drew Williams (92).
The same group was eighth in the Senior Varsity SCTP event.