Valley students earn silver at trap and skeet championships

CHUGIAK —Valley students finished as the runners-up during the varsity competitions of the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program-Youth Education in Shooting Sports Trap and Skeet Championships Dec. 5 at the Birchwood Shooting Park in Chugiak.

Colony High School’s Ann Lord was the runner-up in the girls’ class in three different categories. Lord earned silver in the trap and skeet, and was second overall.

Wasilla High School’s River Vincent finished tied as the runner-up in the trap event, and Colony High School’s Colby Lord finished tied as the runner-up in skeet. Steven Brown, of the Birchwood Bears, was the overall winning, capturing wins in both the trap and skeet competitions. Soldotna’s Peninsula Shooting Stars squad earned the varsity team title, beating runner-up Rabbit Creek. The Houston Hawks finished third in the varsity ranks.

Valley students earned gold during the junior varsity events of the shotgun shooting competition. Wasilla’s Kalon Shampine was first in the junior varsity boys’ trap event, and Colony’s Wyatt Anderson was first in the junior varsity boys’ skeet. Palmer’s Tyler Olson finished as the boys’ runner-up in both categories. Olson was competing in his first season in clay target sports.

In the girls’ junior varsity class, Meghan Thompson was the big winner. Thompson finished first in both trap and skeet, and was the overall champion. Wasilla’s Shelby Nevada was the girls’ junior varsity runner-up in trap, and Colony’s Danni Crombe finished as the girls’ junior varsity runner-up in skeet.

Wasilla won the junior varsity division team title, and Colony and Palmer placed second and third overall respectively.

The meet also included students participating in the junior division, which includes students in grades six through eighth.

Isaac Knight, of the Valley-based Susitna Shooters, dominated the junior division boys’ events, using victories in trap and skeet to be the overall winner. Susitna Shooters teammate Hunter Lewis was the runner-up in all three catagories.

Like Knight, Trisha Gardner, also of the Susitna Shooters, swept events, finishing as the junior division girls’ overall winner after victories in trap and skeet. Esther Hughes was the runner-up in trap. Rylee Gustafson, of the Fronteras Phoenix, was the runner-up in skeet. Joy Lomalino finished as the overall runner-up in the junior girls’ division.

Overall, the championships featured more than 60 athletes from 11 different teams.