Below is a news release from the University of Missouri Extension. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supplied grant funding to help the program.
Thirty-five Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports members competed at the highest level at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Championships on June 25 – June 30 in Grand Island, Nebraska.
The event boasted a record-breaking number of participants: 718 athletes from 42 states, competing in nine disciplines.
The 27 events in the nine discipline areas include: compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, small bore (.22) rifle, small bore (.22) pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading and hunting & outdoor skills. This is National 4-H Shooting Sports’ premiere event for youth.
Each state can send up to nine teams to compete, with a maximum of 36 youth representing each state.
Missouri Counties represented include Bates, Boone, Christian, Clay, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Jasper, Laclede, Lafayette, Lewis, Linn, Marion, Miller, Pike, Polk, and Texas.
Four of nine Missouri teams placed in the top five overall. Five Missouri competitors placed as top ten overall individuals.
2023 Team Placings:
1st, Muzzleloading:
Bubba Day 5th, Toni Haselhorst 4th, Carter Taylor, and Maxwell Black; Coach Rusty Howard
2nd Small Bore Pistol:
Delaney Thiessen 5th, Shane Thiessen 3rd, Kali Kunz, and Sophia Sandbothe; Coach Chesly Manning
2nd Recurve Archery:
Clayton Wilson 2nd, John Armentrout, Grace Day, and Christina Zimmer; Coach Terry Allen
4th Hunting & Outdoor Skills:
Sarah Wright, Caleb Waynick, Austin Pope, and Jake Thorn; Coach Bill Athey
Air Pistol
Konnor Hoerrman, Benjamin Hall, AJ Sherwood, and Kody Cokerham; Coach Bob McCollum
Small Bore Rifle
Qwentin Kallenbach, Caleb Farris, Chloe Gertner, and Ethan Hall; Coach Mike Breshears
Shotgun
Trey Fryer, Ben Steelman, Roy (Tres) Warner III, and Brandon Perry; Coach Jim Turner
Air Rifle
Addyson Randolph, Chloe Beal, and Jack Lawrence; Coach Brad Howard
Compound Archery:
Easton Beezley, Lane Flowers, Parker Hayes, and Delaney Stokes; Coach Tim Taylor
Programs offered by Missouri 4-H would not be possible without support from our partners. Major support for Missouri 4-H Shooting Sports and Natural Resources programs is provided by the Missouri 4-H Foundation in partnership with American Outdoor Brands, the Big Game Hunters Foundation, the MidwayUSA Foundation, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the NRA Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Starline Brass, Cathy Cody, and Larry and Brenda Potterfield.
(Photo credit: University of Missouri Extension)