SCTP COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP

2020 2021 SCTP COLLEGE NATIONALS

Yes, you read that correctly, the 2020 College Nationals were rescheduled from their normal October slot, because of COVID-19, and were held March 18th through March 21st, 2021 at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio. A challenging 12 months of lockdowns and closures still saw several colleges and universities represented by more than 200 shooters at this event.

The folks at the Cardinal Center set a pair of challenging courses for the sporting event. The newest layout, which is mostly thrown over open terrain, offered some very technical targets on day one. Complicating things was the weather, which is so often questionable in this region in early spring. Shooters faced wind gusts over 30 miles per hour and temps in the high 20s to start the first day. Targets that were set in normal 5 mph wind the day prior got pretty interesting, with the gusts driving them to unpredictable trajectories.

On day two the wind settled down a bit and temperatures warmed up enough to make shooting pleasant for the woods course. Some shorter windows and that wonderful morning strobe effect that we shooters love so much provided a different challenge than the cold, wind and long flight times of the prior day’s presentations. Both courses offered true championship level targets for this year’s national event.

Top team honors were taken by Emmanuel College with a 907 out of 1000 targets attempted, just barely outpacing their division rival Fort Hayes State, by a single target. Division One Martin Methodist took third, only six targets back from the leader. After

BY MATTHEW GAY

SPORTING CLAYS - TEAMS

DIVISION I CH MARTIN METHODIST 901/1000 RU LINDENWOOD 886/1000

DIVISION II CH EMANUEL COLLEGE 907/1000 RU FORT HAYES STATE 906/1000

DIVISION III CH HILLSDALE 848/1000 RU GRANDVILLE UNIV. 743/1000

DIVISION IV CH HAWKEYE COMM COLL 706/1000 RU INDIAN HILLS COMM COLL 667/1000

a tie breaker, the individual honor was claimed by Martin Methodist’s Austin Carleton, posting an impressive 188/200 on a pair of tough tournament courses. Cordell Waggoner from Fort Hayes State took home the Silver, with Emmanuel College’s Wyatt Hargrove claiming Bronze with a 186/200. In the Ladies division the Gold was earned by Sara Ratliff from Martin Methodist with a 166/200. Nipping on her heels and just five targets back was Hillsdale’s Jessica Strasser, claiming the Silver medal. Just one target behind Jessica was Katie Dettmann from Fort Hayes State who posted a 160/200.

5-Stand

Martin Methodist made a strong showing to claim top honors in the 100 target 5-Stand event, with a 394 out of 500 targets attempted. This year’s 5-Stand was no joke. Between the weather, the wind, and some great target presentations, shooters had their work cut out for them. Emmanuel College claimed Silver with a 352/500.

Leading his team to a National Championship, Martin Methodist’s Steven Brown claimed individual SPORTING CLAYS INDIVIDUAL

MEN’S CH AUSTIN CARETON 186/200 MEN’S RU CORDELL WAGGONER 186/200

LADY CH SARA RATLIFF 166/200 LADY RU JESSICA STRASSER 161/200

Gold with an 83/100. Teammates Brantley Whitwell and Seth Ratliff took Silver and Bronze with scores of 82/100 and 78/100 consecutively. In the Ladies division Grace College’s Erin Lawhon posted a 66/100 to claim Gold. Eight targets back for Silver was Alexis Teribury from Hawkeye Community College. In her first National tournament as a collegiate competitor with Montreat College, Makayla Scott earned the Bronze with a 56/100.

To Sum It Up

For a year fraught with challenges and obstacles, it was good to experience some semblance of normalcy. Many shooters have had their practice regimens abruptly altered or reduced to facilitate dealing with the pandemic, or because of the ammunition shortage. Nonetheless they showed up, they competed and put forth their best effort to represent their school, their team and their sport. My favorite quote comes from a speech given by Teddy Roosevelt. The section of the speech is called “The man in the arena.” If you are familiar with this quote, you’ll understand its pertinence to the concept of perseverance. If you have never heard this speech, look it up. These athletes persevered because they showed up. n

5-STAND - TEAM

DIVISION I CH MARTIN METHODIST 394/500 RU BETHEL 332/500

DIVISION II CH EMMANUEL COLLEGE 352/500 RU UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA 279/500

DIVISION III CH GRACE COLLEGE 273/500

DIVISION IV CH HAWKEYE COMM COLL 267/500 RU INDIAN HILLS COMM COLL 240/500

5-STAND INDIVIDUAL

MEN’S CH STEVEN BROWN 83/100 MEN’S RU BRANTLEY WHITWELL 82/100

LADY CH ERIN LAWHON 66/100 LADY RU ALEXIS TERIBURY 57/100