SPARA, Ill. -- Youth shooting teams from 15 states captured medals and national honors during the weekend at the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Skeet and Sporting Clays National Championships.

Competition was held in five divisions Aug. 1-2 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Ill.

Medals by State
Arizona—5 medals: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
South Carolina—4 medals: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Nebraska—3 medals: 2 silver, 1 bronze
Texas—3 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Georgia—2 medals: 2 bronze
Indiana—2 medals: 1 gold, 1 bronze
North Carolina—2 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver
Virginia—2 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver
California—1 medal: silver
Louisiana—1 medal: silver
Michigan—1 medal: gold
Minnesota—1 medal: silver
Mississippi—1 medal: gold
Pennsylvania—1 medal: bronze
Tennessee—1 medal: bronze

The World Shooting and Recreational Complex next hosts the SCTP national championships for trap, Aug. 4-5, 2008.

SCTP is managed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) in partnership with USA Shooting and other governing bodies for shooting sports. Across 41 states in 2008, 9,135 youths competed and 1,562 adults volunteered as coaches and directors—both new records for the program.

"The anticipation and excitement of the Olympics and two SCTP alumni competing in Beijing appeared to drive interest in our program this year. And the quality of shooting—not to mentioned the quality of character—among the young people at this event leaves little doubt that we'll see more Olympians coming out of SCTP in the future," said Steve Sanetti, NSSF president.

Arizona finished the skeet and sporting clays SCTP championships with five total medals, more than any other state. Its medalists included two national champion skeet teams.

The state's Red Mountain Target Terminators won the Junior Varsity Division skeet title by breaking 570 out of 600 targets. Team members include Wesley Borie, Luke McCabe-O'Donnell and Kyle Johnson, all of Phoenix.

Their coach, Andy Borie of Phoenix, said, "I think these guys stayed focused. I told them to just come out here and have fun, not worry about the score. They did that and they shot great. I am proud of all our teams out here. They have the ability to focus and have learned to handle their emotions under the pressure. These kids have been to two nationals and they are used to the experience. It's a big deal to come out here and not worry about the pressure."

In the Intermediate Advanced Division, Arizona's Ben Avery Clay Crushers IA1 earned a national title with a score of 567. Team members include Tanner Bissell of Desert Hills, Perry Miller of Goodyear and Holden Huff of Scottsdale.

"We got here because nobody worked any harder than these three athletes. They worked hard all year long and had this very goal in mind from day one, I'm sure. It's great to be here and have the accomplishment of being a champion," said coach Michael Bonner of Cave Creek, Ariz.

South Carolina claimed four medalist teams including two national champions, both in sporting clays.

In the Junior Varsity Division, South Carolina's TKA Lions broke 518 out of 600 targets to win a second consecutive national title. Team members include Kenneth Braxton Ivey, Austin Mogy and Richmond Wilhoit, all of Florence.

"Half of us flew in, half of us drove in from South Carolina and it was a long drive. The guys brought it all together, though. We were one point behind Minnesota after the first day of competition. I talked to the guys that night, went over our safety rules and reminded them why we were here: to represent our school and our team. And they pulled it together and went ahead of Minnesota and took a championship for the second year in a row," said coach Matt Terrio of Florence, S.C.

Also from South Carolina is the 2008 national champion team in the Intermediate Entry Division. The King Academy team won with a score of 448. Team members include Tripp Amick of Batesburg, Austin Bartley of Saluda and Justyn Fox of Batesburg.

King Academy Coach Watson Dorn, Saluda, S.C., said, "This is a great experience for the kids. They were a little nervous in the first round but we kind of settled them down a little bit. They came in today and they scored consistent. Seems like anytime we have a kid that falls off the other kids step up, pick them up – they're really good teammates."

Texas teams won three total medals including one first-place team, The Three Stooges, which took an Intermediate Advanced Division title in sporting clays. Team members include Garrett Fairbanks of Mansfield, Hunter Milligan of Fort Worth and Will Roberts of Haslet. Together they broke 506 out of 600 targets.

"We have great communication with this team. It's a good thing when you have a team that communicates when we're shooting – one miss could cost us the game. They just talked to each other; it's all about them, all about the kids. They really worked as a team. When one would make a mistake, another would step up and talk them through it," said coach John Fairbanks of Fort Worth, Texas.

Indiana can claim two medaling teams including one national champion. In the Varsity Division, the Hoosier Gun Swingers broke 585 out of 600 targets for the win. Team members include Tanner Brooks of Walkerton, Timothy Baker of Laporte and Daniel Borton of North Liberty.

Their coach, Rudy Adams of Walkerton, Ind., said, "First of all, this entire group was willing and anxious to take instruction on how to get better. They have an excellent work ethic and they are excellent citizens in their own right. We're proud of every one of them."

North Carolina teams won two medals. One of those was a gold medal for skeet in the Intermediate Entry Division. The Morgantown Clay Shooters scored 556 thanks to good shooting by Andrew Burgess of Morgantown, Matthew Pearson of Conover and William Rigdon of Morgantown.

Coach John Clark, Morgantown, N.C., described the win as, "Just a wonderful experience. It's our first time at an SCTP shoot. We'll be back next year. Had a kid that started shooting in April of this year and he shot in the 90s all week long. I'm proud of him, proud of each and every one of them. They've all worked really hard to get to this point. We started the program with three kids around Christmas last year and ended up with 22 kids. Out of those, we brought 12 here. We're really proud of that. It's an accomplishment."

Virginia also claimed two medalist teams including one national champion in the Varsity Division for sporting clays. The Charity Hill Claybusters shot 554. Team members include Christopher Smith of Ruther Glen, Daniel Foster of Drakes Branch and William Jacob Lawson of Skipwith.

"We pulled each other up. We were down seven targets after yesterday, but we pulled it together. I'm glad they came together as one unit," said coach Jeffrey Atkins of Farmville, Va.

Michigan teams won only one medal, but it was a big one. In the Rookie Division, Michigan's Crunch Bunch won a skeet title with 515 out of 600 targets. Team members include Jeffrey Rimer of Woodhaven, Trent Olson of New Boston and Michael Matney of Taylor.

Their coach, Jeff Rimer of Woodhaven, Mich., said, "We came out on top because these kids are champions. They have more heart than any shooters out here—every one of them. They practice so many hours every week: two times a week for four hours a day and it really paid off. We had a ball."

Mississippi also made the most of its single trip to the medals stand. Its sporting clays shooters in the Rookie Division earned a national championship with a score of 363. The Pontotoc Ridge Rangers team includes Will Howard of Pontotoc, Bailey McBrayer of Ecru and Brady Sullivan of Pontotoc.

"They did awesome as you can see. It turned out perfect. We're leaving here as national champions in the Rookie Division of sporting clays. These guys held it all together, shot both disciplines – sporting clays and skeet – so they were shooting 200 rounds a day in this heat. That's pretty tough," said coach Ben Howard, Pontotoc, Miss.

Total number of competitors in skeet was 356; sporting clays drew 338.

SCTP was launched by NSSF in 2000 to offer students in grades 12 and under an opportunity to compete as a team in trap, skeet, sporting clays and the international versions of trap and skeet. Program partners include the national governing bodies for each shotgun discipline: Amateur Trapshooting Association, National Skeet Shooting Association, National Sporting Clays Association and USA Shooting. The ultimate goal is instilling in young participants a commitment to safe firearm handling, teamwork and leadership.

Many SCTP shooters go on to compete at the collegiate level. Olympians are more rare, but former SCTP stars Corey Cogdell and Vincent Hancock will represent the U.S. in Beijing in women's trap and men's skeet, respectively.

For more information, visit www.nssf.org/sctp.

SKEET RESULTS

Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1. Indiana—Hoosier Gun Swingers, 585 out of 600 targets (Tanner Brooks of Walkerton, Timothy Baker of Laporte, Daniel Borton of North Liberty).
2. Virginia—Old Dominion 4-H Shur Shots, 583 (Taylor Ricketts of Manakin, Rooster Watson of Blackstone, Jacob Hughes of Quinton).
3. Texas—The Alpine 3, 579 (Kyler Ford of Burleson, J. William Henderson of Mansfield, John Howard Kane of Fort Worth).

Junior Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1. Arizona—Red Mountain Target Terminators, 570 (Wesley Borie of Phoenix, Luke McCabe-O'Donnell of Phoenix, Kyle Johnson of Phoenix).
2. California—Sharpshooters, 560 (Parker Downs of Browns Valley, Brooke Shuford of Bakersfield, Logan Brinkley of Apple Valley).
3. Georgia—Harris County Shotgun Team, 555 (Jess Harless of Columbus, Hughston Hodges of Hamilton, Cody Bentley of Hamilton).

Intermediate Advanced Division (grades 6-8)
1. Arizona—Ben Avery Clay Crushers, 567 out of 600 targets (Tanner Bissell of Desert Hills, Perry Miller of Goodyear, Holden Huff of Scottsdale).
2. Nebraska—One Box Rock Crushers, 553 (Bryan O'Conner of Greeley, Dalton O'Connell of Ansley, Austin Svoboda of Burwell).
3. Arizona—Ben Avery Clay Crushers IA2, 552 (Shelby Shank of Phoenix, Austin Elbert of Waddell, Chase Karvanek of Anthem).

Intermediate Entry Division (grades 6-8)
1. North Carolina—Morgantown Clay Shooters, 556 out of 600 targets (Andrew Burgess of Morganton, Matthew Pearson of Conover, William Rigdon of Morganton).
2. Arizona—Red Mountain Target Terminators, 553 (Stephen Fuller of Phoenix, Kent Everett Thomas of Mesa, Eric Fleming of Chandler).
3. Tennessee—3AT8, 551 (Hayden Stewart of Columbia, Colin King of Mt. Pleasant, Bret Boatright of Pulaski).

Rookie Division (grades 5 and under)
1. Michigan—Crunch Bunch, 515 out of 600 targets (Jeffrey Rimer of Woodhaven, Trent Olson of New Boston, Michael Matney of Taylor).
2. North Carolina—Morgantown Clay Shooters, 494 (Noah Clark of Morganton, Hunter Drum of Hickory, Andrew Roland of Lenoir).
3. Indiana—Hoosier Daddys, 474 (Jared Davenport of Franklin, Paul Driver of Franklin, Tristan Shelley of Mooresville).

SPORTING CLAYS RESULTS

Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1. Virginia—Charity Hill Claybusters, 554 out of 600 (Christopher Smith of Ruther Glen, Daniel Foster of Drakes Branch, William Jacob Lawson of Skipwith).
2. Texas—The Alpine 3, 547 (Kyler Ford of Burleson, J. William Henderson of Mansfield, John Howard Kane of Fort Worth).
3. Nebraska—One Box Rock Crushers, 536 (Brody Sikes of Broken Bow, Logan Spanel of Broken Bow, Print Zutavern of Broken Bow).

Junior Varsity Division (grades 9-12)
1. South Carolina—TKA Lions, 518 out of 600 targets (Kenneth Braxton Ivey of Florence, Austin Mogy of Florence, Richmond Wilhoit of Florence).
2. Minnesota—Clay Crashers, 510 (Joe Will of Jordan, Drew Benson of Cottage Grove, Nick Slipek of St. Paul).
3. South Carolina—Hammond School, 478 (Wesley Dasher of Elgin, Kristian Simmons of Columbia, Parker Dukes of Columbia).

Intermediate Advanced Division (grades 6-8)
1. Texas—The Three Stooges, 506 out of 600 targets (Garrett Fairbanks of Mansfield, Hunter Milligan of Fort Worth, Will Roberts of Haslet).
2. Nebraska—One Box Rock Crushers, 481 (Garrett Irvine of Ravenna, Dalton O'Connell of Ansley, Austin Svoboda of Burwell).
3. Pennsylvania—Crushers, 468 (Michael Magee of Dover, Chip Johnson of Westminster, Nathaniel Jensen of Mechanicsburg).

Intermediate Entry Division (grades 6-8)
1. South Carolina—King Academy Sporting Clays, 448 out of 600 targets (Tripp Amick of Batesburg, Austin Bartley of Saluda, Justyn Fox of Batesburg).
2. Louisiana—Northwest Louisiana 4-H Clay Busters, 415 (Jacob Johnson of Castor, Colton Madden of Benton, Kyle Peterson of Minden).
3. Georgia—Brush Creek, 414 (Trapper Franklin of Dacula, Madison Hinton of Dacula, Will Hinton of Dacula).

Rookie Division (grades 5 and under)
1. Mississippi—Pontotoc Ridge Rangers, 363 out of 600 targets (Will Howard of Pontotoc, Bailey McBrayer of Ecru, Brady Sullivan of Pontotoc).
2. South Carolina—Rocky Creek Clay Dusters, 358 (George Hutchison of Rock Hill, Seth Roddey of Rock Hill, Jeffery Eberspeaker of Rock Hill).
3. Arizona—Ben Avery Clay Crushers, 350 (Casey Coleman of Peoria, Mitchell Jones of Glendale, Tyler Sims of Dewey).