The Jordan trap shooting team had two squads of five competing in the USA High School Clay Target National Championships in Mason, Michigan, July 6-10.
It was the program’s fourth straight trip to nationals after finishing 15th last summer. The team was 40th in 2019 and 66th in 2018. There was no 2020 trap shooting season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seniors Nick McConnell and Ben Swanson and juniors Hunter Lenzmeier, Eli Dodd and John Lenzmeier teamed up to form one Jordan squad and they ended up in the top 20 in the team finals.
The five ended up 19th overall with a team total of 954. They were in 16th place after the qualifying round with a school-record score of 480 and followed with a total of 474 in the final round.
Calhoun High School in Illinois won the title with a 977 total (490 and 487). Sibley East was the highest finishing Minnesota team taking third (973), while Pequot Lakes was fourth (972) and Hastings was seventh (966).
“Top 20 in the nation is awesome for us,” Jordan coach Jeff Radick said. “We’re (a) small town, Minnesota, club team with no direct school funding and no home shooting range, and those are huge barriers to overcome to consistently turn out a team that is competitive on a national stage. We couldn’t do it without volunteer coaches, families and community sponsors.”
Swanson, who will compete in trap shooting in college this fall at Midland University in Nebraska, a Division II program, had a perfect score for Jordan in the team competition hitting 100 of out possible 100 targets.
Hunter Lenzmeier was near perfection, hitting 99 of out 100 targets, followed McConnell (98), John Lenzmeier (93) and Dold (90).
Jordan’s second team consisted of seniors Jacob Higdem and Karly Breegemann, junior Ben Hagen, eighth-grader Carter Everett and sixth-grader Myles Mahowald. They finished 208th with a team total of 421.
Everett had the second team’s best score with 93 out of 100 targets hit, followed by Higdem (89), Mahowald (83), Hagen (82) and Breeggemann (74).
“The team format is pretty stressful as it is five teammates with nobody else to back them up,” Radick said. “You come with five names on a squad list and that is all you got. There is nobody to substitute if somebody is having a bad day for these traveling teams.
“Our teammates and squads do great in supporting each other,” Radick added.
In the individual competition, Hunter Lenzmeier led Jordan finishing tied for 74th overall with 194 targets hit out of 200. He scored a perfect 100 in the finals after recording a 94 in the qualifying round.
Swanson ended up tied for 132nd place for Jordan with a total of 193 with rounds of 98 and 95. McConnell ended up tied for 228th with a 191 total (96-96), while John Lenzmeier tied for 373rd with a score of 184 (94-90).
Everett shot a 90 in the qualifying round and did not advance to the finals, as did by Higdem (82), Dold (81), Hagen (78), Breeggemann (74) and Mahowald (73).
“The individual competition is super nerve racking for the shooters,” Radick said. “It’s them standing up there with their name on the back of their jerseys shooting alone in front of hundreds of people. The top 400 individuals from (the qualifying round) make the individual championship round.
“Nationals is a great experience for our youth; each year they and us coaches learn a little more to be competitive and pass it down to the next class,” Radick added.
