SHOOTING STARS

WASILLA — The Bad Boys of the North Scholastic Clay Target Program team from the Grouse Ridge shooting facility in Wasilla travelled to Sparta, Ill., last month to participate in the SCTP National Championship with their coach, Neil Moss, assistant coach Craig Cook, and chaperon Vicki Turtle.

Jacob Turtle, 15, Dillon Cook, 13, Hunter Smith, 15, and Sam Swihart, 14, competed in the four-day national shoot and placed 16th out of 500 teams in the sporting clays portion of the competition.

The sporting clays portion lasted two days and required shooting at 100 clay targets for each shooter each day.

Cook finished ninth in his age group in the individual shooter rankings. Moss said that more than 1,500 kids participated in this national shooting competion.

Moss, the state SCTP director for sporting clays and the head coach of the Grouse Ridge team, said to be eligible to participate in the SCTP program, the kids must maintain the same grade levels as those required by the school district in allowing school sports participation. Continued involvement in the program through high school, while continuing to maintain grades and improve shooting skills, can lead to potential college scholarships, Moss said. There are currently four active college scholarships which have been awarded to Alaskans through this program. The program also serves as a stepping stone toward participating in the Junior Olympics. Cory Cogdell, the Eagle River native and bronze medal winner in the 2008 Olympic Games, began her shooting career in the SCTP program.

The cable television shooting show, Shooting USA, covered the event. Moss said the show’s producers were quite taken by the Alaskan team. Moss said the producers spent quite a bit of time interviewing Smith and Tuttle. Moss was also interviewed.

The Shooting USA producers told him their coverage of the SCTP Nationals would be aired in two to three months, Moss said.

Moss said that he expects to see parts of the interviews with the two boys included when the show is broadcasted on cable and satellite television. The weekly program airs Wednesdays on the Outdoor Channel.

The Alaska team placed 16th despite sweltering weather conditions. Daily temperatures approached 100 degrees with humidity in the 80 to 90 percent range. Moss said while the boys gave an excellent account of themselves in the shooting matches, they suffered in the unaccustomed heat and humidity.

If you would like to learn more about the program or are interested in participating, contact Moss at 355-0962.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and a regular contributor to the Frontiersman. You can leave him a message by e-mailing sports@frontiersman.com.