Shooting down 96 out of 100 targets, Jack Mertins (above), a junior, led the varsity Clippers as they competed at the state trap meet, held in Alexandria on Friday, June 18.
Mertins was one of four who tied for eighth place.
There were 201 varsity shooters in Region 5A, one of nine regions that competed at state. The 5A winner missed just one target.
Senior Jackson Gibbs and eighth grader Cooper Arnold both shot a 90 for the varsity. Freshman Gabriel Sullivan scored shot an 88. Sophomore Martin Gibbs hit 83 flying clays.
The top five scores contribute toward the team total. With a 447, the varsity Clippers finished in 12th place of the 19 5A teams. The winning score was 486.
Competing at the junior varsity level, senior Gillian Baumgartner led the 33 5A females with an 88. On the male side, freshman Dylan Zimmerman shot an 85 to tie for 29th place of 174 shooters. Seventh grader Judd Gibbs hit 81 targets. Freshman Adam Seeman shot a 69.
In the novice category, senior Ben Griffiths hit 75 targets for a two-way tie for 14th place. Sixth grader Zayden Linder shot a 68. Sixth grader Chase Bock scored a 63. Sixth grader Cole Stocker shot a 61, and sixth grader Henry Boelter connected with 53 targets.
There were 87 5A novice shooters, and the winning score was an 88. The Clippers, with a score of 334, were eighth of 13 novice teams. The winning team scored a 410.
Jackson Gibbs
Cooper Arnold
Gabriel Sullivan
Martin Gibbs
Gillian Baumgartner
Dylan Zimmerman
Judd Gibbs
Adam Seeman