Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Shotgun team excels at Sporting Clays State Championships
10/18/2020 12:00:00 AM | Shooting, Shotgun
Liberty University's shooting sports shotgun team made its 2020-21 season debut Oct. 17-18 at the Virginia Sporting Clays State Championships hosted by Brushy Mountain Gun Club in Gretna, Va., a 40-minute drive from the Liberty Mountain Gun Club.
"That is a first-class facility that has hosted the state championships five times now," Flames Head Coach Roger Johnson said. "Under our normal competition schedule, we wouldn't normally compete in that event, but due to COVID-19 restricting our ACUI schedule to virtual competitions and canceling all sporting clay disciplines this fall, we opted to go to it to give our team an in-person, head-to-head competition."
The event, open to all members of the National Sporting Clay Association, grouped high school and collegiate age shooters into the same category. It attracted a total of 241 shooters, including representatives from Radford University's and Virginia Tech's shotgun teams. But Liberty was the only full collegiate team with 13 competitors.
"There were collegiate shooters intermixed with high school competitors representing the best sporting clay shooters in Virginia and the surrounding states, with at least nine states represented in all," Johnson said. "We represented well in three of the seven classes, which ranged from E through AA and masters."
Austin Applegarth, a sophomore from Pittsburgh, fired a team-high 172 out of a possible 200 over the two-day to capture first place in the out-of-state C Class competition. Nathan Brandmeyer, a freshman recruit from Iowa, was the out-of-state E Class champion after shooting a two-day total of 153.
"His dominant skill sets are in trap and bunker, and this was his first sporting clay competition," Johnson said of Brandmeyer, whose specialty is the American trap.
Among Virginia natives, Liberty junior captain Justin Johnson shot a 150 total to earn second-place honors in the D Class and junior overall category. He was followed closely by Ethan Goodman (149), who took third place in the D class in his first time competing individually and for Liberty in a sporting clays event.
Out of 17 women competitors, Lady Flames sophomore Victoria Hendrix finished fifth overall. Maggie Woelffer placed ninth and fellow graduate Chloe Sterner also competed along with Jessica Wilhelm, a sophomore from Lynchburg, Va., who won the H Class with a two-day total of 146.
Coach Johnson is searching for alternative opportunities for in-person competitions for the Flames and Lady Flames this fall, including a mid-November scrimmage at LMGC, possibly against shooters from Radford, Virginia Tech, and JMU.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
