William Penn Ends Fall with Win in Four-Year Championship

Waukee--The Statesmen shotgun sports team finished its fall campaign with a dominating performance en route to a title at the Four-Year University State Championship Saturday and Sunday.

WPU was first out of eight programs with a score of 1,583-for-1,750, while Simpson was a distant runner-up at 1,508-for-1,750.  The title is the fifth of the year for the squad.

The Statesmen nearly claimed a full sweep of the competition, winning the disciplines of Sporting Clays, Skeet, and Super Sporting, while also taking both of the individual High Overall Athlete crowns.

The navy and gold topped Sporting Clays at 492-for-500 with Cade Bowie (Sr., Benton, Ark., Business Management) posting a perfect score of 100-for-100.

Trenton Giese (So., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering) was next with a score of 99-for-100, while Ian Darragh (Fr., Eagle, Idaho, Business Management) and Colton Heintz-Kuderer (Jr., Mabel, Minn., Biology) both had 98-for-100 efforts.  Brendan Becker (Fr., Genoa City, Wis., Business Management) finished off the scoring group at 97-for-100.

Darragh headlined the Statesmen in Sporting Clays with a tally of 82-for-100, while the team was 392-for-500.

Bowie was second for WPU at 79-for-100, while the trio of Brandon Nord (Sr., Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., New Media), Emily Sjoberg (So., Citrus Heights, Calif., Business Management), and Wyatt Kresser (Jr., Independence, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) also got on the board at 77-for-100.

The Super Sporting title came via a 226-for-250 score with Kresser's 48-for-50 leading the way.  Sjoberg and Nathan Roberts (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) put up scores of 45-for-50, while Giese and Karla Priebe (Fr., Wichita Falls, Texas, Industrial Technology) both got in on the team score at 44-for-50.

The lone silver of the weekend came in Trap as William Penn finished at 473-for-500, while Trenton Hol (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) had the squad's best score at 96-for-100.

Kresser and Brianna Thompson (Sr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology) were one shot back at 95-for-100, while Addison McGehearty (So., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Secondary Education) had a score of 94-for-100.

Cole Henning (Jr., Wilton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and Connor Gittings (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) were part of the team score at 93-for-100.

Kresser guided all shooters in the HOA standings at 316-for-350, while Sjoberg was best on the Female HOA side at 307-for-350.  Priebe was second among female shooters at 287-for-350.

"This team has put in the time and the effort to reach new heights in their personal journeys," Head Coach Colten Uitermarkt said.  "I am incredibly proud of each and every one of the athletes this season."

"I have seen the seniors step up and make this team a happy family, while also witnessing the freshmen step up to the challenges of competition at the collegiate level and learning new aspects of the game," Uitermarkt added.  "I am so proud of the sophomore class for coming into this season with a new sense of maturity in their game.  The junior class also came into this year with their eyes set on excellence and their summer shooting transitioned well into this season.  I am extremely proud of the team and their drive for excellence in the classroom and at the range."