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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Cresco Area Clay Crushers delivered an impressive performance at the 2024 Scholastic Clay Target Program State Trap Shooting Championship. The competition was held June 3-9 at the Iowa State Trapshooting Homegrounds, north of Cedar Falls. Competing against 120 teams from across Iowa, the Crushers scored a 969 with a tiebreaker of 21. Leading the way for the Crushers, Kail Schmelzer, a senior from Cresco, scored 198. Schmelzer's outstanding aim earned him a spot on the Men's Singles Trap All-State Team. His teammates, Cole Suckow (195), Ethan Tlusty (194), Boston Danielson (192), and Mason Vrba (190), also contributed significantly to the team's success. More than 3,000 athletes from 4th grade through high school, participated in the event. They collectively shot nearly 780,000 clay targets over the week. Competitions included singles trap, doubles trap and handicap trap. The Ankeny Centennial Jaguars emerged as the top varsity squad in both singles and handicap, while the Pleasant Valley Trap Team claimed the Varsity Squad Championship in doubles Trap. The All-State team for singles trap is determined by combining the athlete's league score and Championship Event Score. Alongside Schmelzer, the team includes Logan Sease (Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports, Captain), Matthew Eilers (Pleasant Valley Trap Team), Hunter Strong (Davenport Youth Trap), Ethan Swehla (New Hampton Youth Trap) and Preston Feuerbach (Xavier High School). The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is the largest and fastest-growing youth clay target program in the U.S., offering competitions in trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines like bunker trap and international skeet. For more information on the Scholastic Clay Target or Action Shooting Programs in Iowa, contact Marty Eby at 515 313-8048 or Marty.Eby@dnr.iowa.gov. A complete list of the results can be found online at 2024TrapResults. Knowledge is power! Stay empowered by subscribing to the free newsletter, packed with valuable insights, stories of local newsmakers and ideas to get your weekend started.

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