The 2023 Spring Trap and Skeet League season was a little different this year and as always it went by fast.  We saw a lot of rough weather but that never stops our kids or coaches from showing up and giving it their all.  The league had to keep pushing weekly score submissions out due to northern teams having to delay their season because of high snow levels.  In the past we had weekly conference results but this season we didn’t know where we were at until the end.  Hastings registered 103 trap shooters (76 male/27 female) under head coach Earl Robinson and 20 skeet shooters (17 male/three female) under head skeet coach Darin Berg. 

Our season consists of two practice weeks, a reserve week and then five competition weeks.  We start shooting the end of March and wrap up with Nationals in July.  The Raiders shooting facility is at 3M in Cottage Grove where we rotate fields weekly with Park High School on Sunday and Monday.  We typically limit our team to high school with a few eighth graders but this year we allowed several seventh graders to join as well.  We are considered a club team and all of our almost 20 coaches and several other volunteers are not paid.  Most of the coaches and volunteers have remained with the team since it began about 13 years ago.  We all continue to volunteer because we love watching these kids grow with safe shooting sports that they have so much passion for.  Some families are with us for many years as younger siblings latch on.

The 2023 MN Clay Target League had 343 high school teams assigned to 45 conferences.  The Hastings trap team was in Class 9A Conference Two competing for five weeks against Farmington, New London-Spicer, Nicollet, Northfield, Owatonna and Prior Lake.  The skeet team was in Class 2A Conference Three competing against Anoka, Cherry, Prior Lake, and Spring Lake Park.

Congratulations to the following shooters who shot a straight 25 by the end of state competition.  Trap straights were Collin Meyers (five times), Carter Bauer (twice), Brody Anderson, Joshua Route, Zachary Rother (twice), Isaac Nauer (twice), Tanner Lamb, Evan Nelson, Nick Leifeld (three times), Ty Dubej, Hunter Rowan, Tristan Asher and Walter Jung.  Skeet 25 straights were shot by Morgan Herrmann.  We did not have any 50 or higher straights.

Any student with a 19 or higher average at the end of the five competition weeks letter.  Or if you shoot a 23 or higher at state you letter.  We had 45 students letter in trap of which nine were a result of state competition.  Skeet had 13 students letter of which four were a result of state competition.

At the conclusion of the five competition weeks the trap team placed fourth out of the seven conference teams with 60,289.50 points and Prior Lake took first with 93,002.00 points.  We did not win any trap conference awards but we had two males and five females place in the top 25.  The males were Collin Meyers in seventh place (23.30 average) and Isaac Nauer in 22^nd place (22.70).  The females were Amelia Clark and Katelyn Rud tied for eighth place (20.90), Kaitlyn Schutz in 13th place (20.50), Sydney Sticha in 21^st place (19) and Summar Hacken in 24^th place (18.90).  The skeet team placed fourth out of the five conference teams with 1,843.50 points and Prior Lake took first place with 3,946.00 points.  The skeet league is much smaller so they only recognize the top ten.  No males placed but female Katilyn Schutz took fifth place (17.60).  The MN State High School Clay Target League also has a Championship for the top 100 trap shooters in the league and they also recognize the top 25 skeet shooters in the league without a competition.  However, we did not have anyone qualify this season.

We are sad to see 21 seniors graduate and leave the team this year.  Hopefully, some of them will be shooting for college teams and we have had several that become junior coaches for our team.  Congratulations to senior AJ Jaeger who won one of the $1,000.00 Jim Sable Environment and Conservation scholarships given by the league. 

The state trap championship is held in Alexandria, and it takes nine days to get the entire 7,900 shooters representing 240 high schools through.  It is the world’s largest youth shooting event and Hastings always competes on the final day as one of the biggest teams in the state.  This year we shot on June 20.  The state skeet championship is held in Prior Lake and it takes two days to get the 250 athletes representing 40 high schools through.  Like trap the skeet team competes on the final day as one of the biggest teams in the state.  The skeet team shot on June 22^nd.  One of the greatest things about these sports is that all shooters are eligible to compete at state.  Based on their five-competition week average they shoot at state against others in their same division of either novice, junior varsity or varsity and it is a clean slate allowing anyone to be the champion. 

The trap team had 86 shooters register for state (63 male/23 female) and placed 14^th overall out of 15 teams with 459 points.  Prior Lake took first place with 491 points.  The varsity team of 30 shooters took 13^th place with junior varsity of 35 shooters takin 10^th place and the novice team of 21 shooters taking fourth place.  Our high gun males for the novice division were Alexander Stanton in 20^th place (77 out of 100), junior varsity Logan Becker in 33^rd place (86 out of 100) and varsity Collin Meyers in 38^th place (94 out of 100).  Our high gun females for the novice division were Amelia Miller in second place (84 out of 100), junior varsity Kaleigh King in 12^th place (81 out of 100) and varsity Kaitlyn Schutz in 17^th place (86 out of 100).  Congratulations to Amelia Miller who was recognized with a second-place state championship medal. 

The skeet team had 17 shooters register for state (14 male/three female) and placed sixth overall out of 16 teams with 445 points.  Wayzata took first place with 483 points.  Because the skeet league is so much smaller than trap they do not recognize or provide scoring for the teams by division.  We had five varsity shooters, seven junior varsity and five novice shooters.  Our high gun males for the novice division was Nicholas Karnick in first place (85 out of 100), junior varsity in second place Morgan Herrmann (91 out of 100) and varsity Nick Leifeld in 31^st place (89 out of 100).  Our high gun females for the novice division were Sydney Sticha in fourth place (59 out of 100), junior varsity Kaitlyn Schutz in fourth place (76 out of 100) and no females shot in the varsity division.  Congratulations to Nicholas Karnick and Morgan Herrmann who were recognized with first and second place championship medals. 

We will close out the season with six shooters competing at the National High School Clay Target League trap championship in Mason, Michigan July 5 – 9.