The Hillsdale College shotgun team finished first in Division III and third overall at the Scholastic Clay Target Program Fall Nationals, where they hit 2,279 out of 2,500 targets. The championship hosted 17 colleges and 200 total collegiate competitors.
“This season has been one of the most victorious thus far in team history. Not only did the team compete and win in Division III, but their scores in this year’s Fall National Championship bested all Division II teams and all but two Division I teams,” shotgun coach Mike Carl said.
The team took first place in each of the four disciplines. Individually, junior Kie Kababik shot a 199 to take first place in the American Trap event, followed closely by junior Jordan Hintz’s 198. Kababik and sophomore Drew Lieske lead the team in the overall hitting 456 out of 500 targets.
“We have such a talented group of people. It’s such a remarkable feat to stand on the podium in every event, especially considering other schools, such as first-place Lindenwood, had over 50 shooters in attendance, a team five times as large as ours,” Lieske said.
This win comes after an impressive second-place overall performance last month at the ACUI Midwest Regional Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The two-day event held Oct. 3 and 4 consisted of 100 American trap targets, 100 American skeet targets and 100 sporting clay targets. Hillsdale scored 1,419 out of 1,500, just 19 targets behind the winner, Lindenwood University.
In American Trap, Kababik shot a 99 to tie for first place, finishing second after a three-way shoot-off. In American Skeet, Hillsdale took first and second with junior Jordan Hintz’s 100 straight and Lieske’s 99. Lieske’s 96 in Sporting Clays secured third after a shoot-off with Brady Simms of Lindenwood University. In addition, Lieske’s cumulative score, 291 out of 300 targets, was the highest overall score at the event for the second consecutive year.
