THE CLEMSON SHOTGUN CLUB – Front row (left to right): Austin Mogy, Florence; Katherine Stansell, Damascus, Md.; Catherine Blankenship, Anderson; Zack Wyatt, Clover; and Collin Stokes, Bluffton. Back row (left to right): Player Aston, Latta; Hunter Baughman, Summerville; Alex McHale, Mount Pleasant; Cody Gasque, Latta; and Austin Rodgers, Ridge Spring. Photo by: Clemson University.
Player Reese Aston of Latta and the Clemson University shotgun club outshot competitors from eight other universities to win the Southeastern Invitational Collegiate Championship in Jacksonville, Florida, for the fourth straight time.
Aston, a senior majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, finished fourth and was first in wobble trap. The team also included Cody Gasque of Latta.
Clemson’s team knocked down 940 clays and beat second-place Embry-Riddle by 93 clays.
“We had some shooters who hadn’t shot in pressure situations,” said Rick Willey, shotgun club coach and Clemson University Extension 4-H natural resource specialist. “But they rose to the challenge and will give us added depth and momentum as we head to San Antonio later this month for the national championships.”
Zach Wyatt, a freshman from Clover, was men’s overall champion, while Katie Stansell of Damascus, Md., was women’s overall champion.
Wyatt also took first in trap. Stansell’s overall first-place finish was fueled by second-place finishes in skeet, trap and wobble trap. She was women’s overall runner-up at the same event last fall.
Hunter Baughman of Summerville took third place in men’s overall, while Player Aston of Latta finished fourth. Catherine Blankenship of Anderson was women’s overall runner-up.
Other Clemson shooters finishing in the top five in individual events include: Baughman, fifth in skeet and second in wobble trap; Austin Rodgers, fourth in trap; Aston, first, wobble trap; Alex McHale, fourth, wobble trap; Blankenship, first in skeet, third in trap and first in wobble trap.
Eighty-two shooters competed in the event, which was hosted by Jacksonville University and held at the Jacksonville Skeet and Trap Gun Club.
The club now heads to San Antonio March 26–31 for the 2013 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships where the students hope to defend and improve upon the four national championships the club won in 2012.
The club’s trip to San Antonio will be funded in part by a $3,000 donation from the South Carolina Arms Collectors Association (SCACA). The club will bring 13 shooters to San Antonio.
“We are very grateful to the SCACA for their donation,” Willey said. “We originally approached them about sponsoring one shooter. They are very generously sponsoring three.”
The Clemson University Shotgun Club is supported by the School of Agricultural, Forest and Environmental Sciences (SAFES) and practices at the Pickens Bend range, which is made available for its use by Clemson’s parks, recreation and tourism management department.
