The Spartan sports shooting team headed to Cedar Rapids for the Corridor Clay Crushers Shoot, hosted by Kirkwood, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. Conditions were not ideal with cool temperatures and high winds all day. The Spartans finished sixth out of the eight teams competing, with a score of 458.
Top performing team members for the Spartans included:
- Kessler Tomas, freshman, Creston - 94
- Tom Steinbach, freshman, Creston - 93
- Cole Harder, sophomore, Hancock - 92
- Kyle Redinbaugh, freshman, Atlantic - 90
- Blake Binns, freshman, Winterset - 89
For high individual men, the Spartans placed as follows:
- Kessler Tomas—18th
- Tom Steinbach—24th
- Cole Harder—25th
- Kyle Redinbaugh—31st
- Blake Binns—32nd
For high individual women, the Spartan placings included:
- Sydney McElfish, sophomore, Greenfield - 13th
- Mallory Bell, freshman, Colfax - 15th
Spartan Head Coach Marc Roberg said there were a number of factors going against the Spartans.
"We kind of ran into some bad luck," explained Roberg. "We were missing two of our good shooters, Jessica Aupperle and Dakota Burgmaier; we drew the worst trap with these wind conditions; and we were not allowed to practice because they were ahead of schedule."
But, according to Roberg, these are not excuses for not shooting well.
"As I told the kids, you have to be mentally ready to shoot as soon as you get off the bus," Roberg emphatically stated. "At the ACUI Nationals you are not allowed to practice the day of the event, so we need to get used to this being the norm."
Roberg did say, on a high note, it was nice to see some different people step up and shoot in the 90s. He feels that is a positive for the future of Spartan sports shooting.
Next up for the Spartans is a shoot this Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Stockdale Gun Club in Ackley , hosted by Ellsworth Community College.