Westmoreland County teens compete at Clay Target League national championships

By: Matthew Purucker
Sunday, August 4, 2024 | 9:38 PM

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It takes dedication to be a clay target shooter. Every shot demands focus and accuracy to ensure the target is hit, and right after the shot is taken, the shooter needs to be ready to take down the next target.

That dedication allowed members of the Hempfield, Yough and Latrobe clay target teams to qualify for the USA High School Clay Target League national championships July 10-14, in Mason, Mich.

The competition rewarded the efforts of the schools’ athletes, who had trained throughout the season, to show their skills at one of the highest levels in the sport.

“(The championship) had roughly 1,800 shooters (1,735 exactly),” Hempfield clay target team coach Rob Ronald said. “We had one team of five shooters. For them to experience it, it was just amazing.”

Hempfield sent six shooters to participate in the individual competition — Patrick Braffet, Kadin Ficco, Hank Fligger, Hunter Fligger, Peyton Hall and Drew Ronald. Hunter Fligger and Drew Ronald qualified for the individual finals, and both scored 97 out of 100, finishing 112th and 125th, respectively.

“Drew is a ninth grader, and this was his second year of shooting. Last year he wasn’t able to make the nationals,” Rob Ronald said. “(At the finals) he improved from 378th … because he shot better on Sunday. Hunter Fligger, this is his first season shooting with us. He finished 42nd to qualify to go to Sunday.”

Drew Ronald hit 50 consecutive targets twice, and Hunter Fligger connected on 50 straight once.

On the team side, Yough’s clay target team performed the best out of the local schools. Its first team, whose members are Aaron Lyons, TJ Hoyle, Braden Carpenter, Aiden McDonough and Jordan McDonough, placed in the top 80. This marked the first Yough team to reach the Sunday finals.

For many of these clay target shooters, it is a persistent training process to be able to hit a target upwards of 90% of the time, which is the accuracy required to be competitive at the highest level.

“They have to have a ranking of 23 average on the half round to qualify for states, to qualify for the first tier,” Yough coach Bob Miller said. “The second tier is 21 out of 25. Out of 37 (on the Yough team), 34 qualified (for the state championship) and 12 qualified for nationals.”

Five athletes from Yough also placed in the top 400 individually — Jordan McDonough, Caiden Nightman, Peytan Snyder, Jimmy Gallaher and Ethan Baker. Baker surged into the top 100 in the country with a 98 out of 100 in the finals.

“They all did amazing,” Yough assistant coach Stephanie McDonough said. “We had one kid, who was 77th in the country, with a score of 98. There were 15 kids that made 100 of 100. It’s perfection. You need that to compete.”

Miller described the various athletes he gets to be a part of the team and the amount of work that goes into a successful season.

“Our kids started shooting in March. That is the whole crew, but our dedicated students shoot year round, seven times a week, even,” Miller said. “They shoot from sixth grade up to 12th. There are a lot of sports around, some of these kids have three letters, and training varies for each kid.”

Latrobe’s clay target team sent two shooters: Parker Queer and Joseph Musick. Queer scored 98 on the first day and 96 on Sunday. He finished 182nd overall, including four runs of 25 consecutive hits.

Latrobe competed in the Scholastic Clay Target Program national team championships in Marengo, Ohio, which coincided with the USA High School Clay Target League national championships.

Latrobe coach Merle Musick wanted to emphasize the significance of the sport’s increased interest.

“We started in the spring of 2020 with 16 kids. Our last season, we had 47. It’s growing every year. It’s a sport that every kid can participate in. Handicapped kids can participate. … We’re all recognized by the schools,” Musick said. “There are (nearly) 60 teams across the state, and it’s growing every year. It definitely is the fastest growing sport in the country.”

Tags: Hempfield, Yough