A wet and windy Memorial Day weekend shootout at the Newark Rod and Gun Club ended with Red Jacket once again standing atop the Finger Lakes regional trap shooting standings.
FL1 WEATHER: Dangerous heat grips Finger Lakes through Friday before holiday weekend relief The Red Jacket Cardinals claimed their fourth consecutive Finger Lakes Regional Trap Shooting Tournament championship Saturday, edging Midlakes by just three targets after a day of difficult shooting conditions and tight competition among eight school districts.
Red Jacket finished with 211 hits out of a possible 250 targets, narrowly defeating Midlakes, which posted 208 marks. The tournament featured 76 student shooters competing through rain, wind, and shifting target conditions over a five-hour event in Newark.
The challenging weather added another layer of difficulty to the competition, with strong winds causing clay targets to rise unexpectedly on upper fields and drop erratically at lower stations.
Midlakes shooter Travis Guard earned the boys individual championship after missing only three targets all day. Guard finished with a score of 47 out of 50 to lead the male standings.
Red Jacket’s Chase Atwood finished second among boys shooters with 45 hits, while teammate Kullen Hill placed third with 44.
On the girls side, Marcus Whitman’s Holland Benge claimed the top spot after hitting 44 of 50 targets. South Seneca’s Alyssa Minges also posted a 44, followed by Marcus Whitman’s Elsie Foust with 44 as well.
Tournament scoring combines two rounds of 25 targets for each shooter, with the top five scores from each team contributing to the final team total. Shooters rotate positions every five targets, changing angles and target trajectories throughout the competition.
The state trap shooting tournament is scheduled for June 5-7 at the Bridgeport Rod & Gun Club in Cicero, where approximately 190 schools are expected to compete for state championships.
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