2025-2026 Shotgun Sports Season Preview
The William Penn shotgun sports team will look to defend its national crown as it enters the 2025-2026 campaign.
Second-year head coach Colten Uitermarkt and sixth-year coach Steve Heaton guided the Statesmen to an ACUI Division II national title a year ago. The squad returns four All-Americans off a squad that won six total tournaments.
The All-Americans include Tanner Muff (Sr., Lincoln, Neb., Public Accounting), Trenton Giese (So., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering), Wyatt Kresser (Jr., Independence, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management), and Nikolle Kussatz (Jr., Leighton, Iowa, Biology).
WPU has a plethora of additional top talent also back on the roster, featuring Cade Bowie (Sr., Benton, Ark., Business Management), Connor Gittings (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology), Colton Heintz-Kuderer (Jr., Mabel, Minn., Biology), Brandon Nord (Sr., Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., New Media), Nathan Roberts (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering), Emily Sjoberg (So., Citrus Heights, Calif., Undecided), Brianna Thompson (Sr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology), Emily Uitermarkt (Sr., Otley, Iowa, Elementary Education), all of whom scored for the Statesmen at nationals last spring.
Hayden Lund (So., Beaverdam, Wis., Sports Management) and Addison McGehearty (So., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Undecided) provide even more returning depth for the navy and gold.
Coach Uitermarkt is also excited about his new recruits, including a huge freshman class gifted with talent.
Graduate student Mason Ward (Grad., Twin Falls, Idaho, Master's of Organizational Leadership) adds collegiate experience in all disciplines, specializing in Trap and Skeet.
The freshman crew of Brendan Becker (Fr., Genoa City, Wis., Business Management), Ian Darragh (Fr., Eagle, Idaho, Business Management, Brianna Giese (Fr., Muskego, Wis., Nursing), Karla Priebe (Fr., Wichita Falls, Texas, Industrial Technology), Trenton Hol (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology), Michael Hudnut (Fr., New Sharon, Iowa, Nursing), Miranda Bernau (Fr., Waterford, Wis., Biology), and Madison King (Fr., Vinton, Iowa, Industrial Engineering) also bring experience in all of the disciplines.
Becker, Darragh, Giese, and Priebe specialize in Skeet and Sporting Clays, while Hol is best in Trap and Sporting Clays.
Hudnut's specialty is Trap, while Bernau and King are strongest in Skeet.
The trio of Zachary Bennett (Fr., Ottumwa, Iowa, General Mathematics), Mason Drout (Fr., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering), and Izaac Zihlman (Fr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Business Management) will add experience in Trap as well.
Schedule
William Penn opens its campaign Saturday in Riverside at the Coe Invitational. It serves as the first of seven tournaments this fall, including hosting both the William Penn Invitational on September 26-28 in Oskaloosa at the Mahaska County Izaak Walton League and the William Penn Line Game Invitational at Southeast Iowa Trap and Skeet Club in Fairfield.
ACUI Nationals will be held next March in San Antonio, Texas.
