Wolverines dominate the competition at national meet
The Waterford Wolverine Shooting Team emerged as champions in four categories at the Scholastic Clay Target Program national competition in Marengo, Ohio, July 5-16.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the team – our athletes and their families,” said Scott Gunderson, president of the Waterford Wolverine Shooting Team.
“Last year before we left nationals they decided they wanted to go out their senior year on top. And wow they did just that,” Gunderson said. “All the time and dedication they put in all winter payed off.”
The team earned four distinct National Championships in American Trap in 2022, according to coach Mike Ciezki.
The first is the American Trap Senior Varsity Squad National Championship, which is scored based on the total of the five athletes that actually shot together as a squad on the field.
That squad was made up of Eli Watral (200/200), Jaden Hoppe (195/200), Cole Anderson (198/200), Angie Wolfert (194/200) and Riley Cammers (194/200).
The second is the American Trap Open High School National Championship, which combines the individual scores of a team’s top five junior varsity and/or varsity athletes that attend.
That group was made up of Watral (200/200), Cole Burns (199/200), Anderson (198/200), Courtney Wolfert (196/200) and Jaden Hoppe (195/200) (in descending order of score).
The third title is the American Trap Senior Division Team National Championship. This combines the top five junior varsity and/or varsity athletes scores, regardless of which group or squad they shot with on the field.
That group was made up of Watral (200/200), Burns (199/200), Anderson (198/200), Wolfert (196/200) and Hoppe (195/200) (in descending order of score).
The fourth is the American Trap Junior Varsity Squad National Championship, which is scored based on the total of the five junior varsity athletes that actually shot together as a squad on the field.
That squad was made up of Burns (199/200), Brayden Hoppa (190/200), Izabel Downs (194/200), Wolfert (196/200) and Matthew Smith (190/200) (in the order they shot on the field).
“Earning a championship in any one of these categories is an amazing feat, especially given the record number of competitors at this year’s tournament,” Ciezki said. “To earn all three is an amazing accomplishment and may be unprecedented.
“To say that I am proud of our athletes, their hard work, dedication and achievements is an understatement,” he said. “The five that made up our Squad Champions came together after last year’s National Tournament and set a goal to earn the championship in what would be for four of them, their last year to compete as high schoolers. (Watral, Hoppe, Anderson and Angie Wolfert were all seniors and graduated this year). “They worked hard all year long, both at our official team practices and on their own, training and honing their skills to achieve their goal.”
Ciezki also noted that his team earned the Wisconsin State Senior Varsity Trap Championship with a squad of: Angie Wolfert (100/100), Riley Cammers (100/100), Ava Downs (99/100), Jaden Hoppe (96/100) and Aiden Brink (95/100).
“Beyond the athletes named specifically in these achievements is an entire team of national champions – earning an incredible amount of team awards, individual awards and personal achievements at competitions of all levels. From the beginning of our season with conference competition through our invitational tournaments, regional tournaments, state and national championships. – they all deserve to be called State and National Champions,” Ciezki said.
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