Liberty University Club Sports
ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships
Shotgun team captures first Division 3 ACUI Clay Target Nationals title
3/30/2023 4:14:22 PM | Shotgun
After back-to-back years in which Liberty University’s shotgun team finished runner-up in Division 3 of the ACUI Clay Target National Championships, the squad finally took home the gold in the event, which ran from March 21-25 in San Antonio, Texas.
The ACUI nationals, which featured 29 teams in Liberty’s division, included six different shooting disciplines – American skeet, American trap, American double skeet, American double trap, super sporting clays, and sporting clays. Liberty finished with a score of 2,689, edging runner-up Hastings (Neb.) College (2,683) and Doane (Neb.) University (2,681). In addition to winning in the overall standings, the Flames and Lady Flames also finished first in the American skeet, with the help of a 98 score from freshman Nate Hagy, and sporting clays disciplines.
“It was quite emotional,” said Head Coach Roger Johnson, who is in his fourth year at the helm of the team. “It was surreal to finally pull off a win, especially for our seniors who had their last opportunity. What a way to go out and graduate.”.
Liberty also had a historic finish in the American doubles trap with its program-best third place finish spearheaded by a 95-point score from senior Ethan Goodman and finished third in American doubles skeet.
Johnson called the performance of sophomore Matt Daniels, who walked onto the team last season, “absolutely amazing.” Daniels was named to the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Nationals All-American Honorable Mention Team and was Liberty’s top shooter for the week with a score of 545.
Despite the individual success of several members of the team, Johnson emphasized the contribution each shooter made to bring home the trophy.
“Nine out of 10 of our shooters contributed scores and that’s what it really takes to win a championship is everybody doing their part to get there,” he said. “Assistant Coach (Jacob) Davis (and I) couldn’t be more proud of this team.”.
“This year our team has been through a lot of adversity, a lot of change as it related to our practice facilities and our normal practice routine,” he added. “I believe that it has actually created a closer connection to the team and allowed them to create an upper level of support that maybe didn’t exist before. That’s what allowed them to persevere and push through and win this thing.”
By Christian Shields/Staff Writer
