Morrison teen takes 11th at national trap-shooting championship

MORRISON – A 15-year-old Morrison High School student is hitting all the right marks on the shooting range.

Patrick Schaefer took 11th place at the USA High School Clay Target League Championship earlier this month. He was one of only 1,800 shooters from more than 400 high schools across 27 states invited to compete at the four-day event in Mason, Michigan.

Qualifying for an invite to the championship requires student-athletes and teams to be registered in their respective state high school clay target league’s current trap-shooting season and have completed scores for all five competition weeks of the spring season. They also must meet a minimum average for the spring season and meet all extracurricular activity participation requirements set forth by their schools.

Competitions during the spring season consist of two 25-target sessions. To qualify for a championship invite, shooters need at least a 23-target average for the entire season.

The national championship features two competitions, one for teams and the other for individuals. According to the USAHSCTL competition rules, shooters in the individual competition are assigned two 50-target sessions for the qualifying round.

“For the individuals, the top 400 move on to the final round,” said Drew Tri, marketing manager of the USA Clay Target League. “These athletes are competing on the line with people they don’t know, yet they’re shaking hands, fist-bumping and cheering each other on.”

Competitors face another set of two 50-target sessions in the championship round, with awards based on championship round targets only, not cumulative scores.

Schaefer competed in the individual tournament, beating 1,400 other competitors and shooting a perfect 100 straight in the finals to advance to the championship round before finishing 11th in the nation.

“It’s all about having fun, and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Schaefer said. “When I didn’t make the top 10, I walked off with a smile. It was a great experience, and I hope to place higher in the rankings next year.”

Schaefer started shooting only two years ago and was introduced to the sport by his grandmother and Morrison High School trap-shooting coach Mary Schaefer.

“My dad was one of the ones who started the Morrison Sportsman’s Club,” Mary Schaefer said. “When I was 14, I was watching him and saying, ‘Hey, Dad, how come I can’t shoot?’ So he placed a gun in my hand.”

Mary Schaefer has been coaching the high school team for the past three to four years. Patrick is the third grandchild she’s trained with the team.

“I like all my grandkids to try it,” Mary Schaefer said. “Patrick is a natural. He watches my husband, who is also very good, and he just figures it out. It’s been a lot of fun having my grandkid in there.”

To shoot on the team, Mary Schaefer said students must be in eighth grade or older and bring their own 12- or 20-gauge shotgun. Kids do not need to be a Morrison student to participate on the team unless their school has a trap-shooting team of its own.