In its final event of the season, the Hillsdale College Shotgun team placed third out of 27 teams. The team battled in the ACUI Eastern Super Shoot at the Nashville Gun Club in Nashville, TN.
The only teams that scored higher than Hillsdale were the University of Tennessee Southern and the University of Georgia Southern.
The Super Shoot included International Skeet, American Skeet, International Trap, American Trap, Skeet Doubles, Trap Doubles, Sporting Clays, and Super Sporting.
“There were a handful of teams there that are some of the best programs in the country,” Head Coach Jordan Hintz said. “There were just over 270 competitors.”
Senior Anthony LaMacchia said the team shot 2102 out of 2250 targets.
“In the past Tennessee Southern and Georgia Southern have been pretty strong competitors against us,” LaMacchia said. “The fact that we’re up there bumping on their shoulders is a good sign for the team.”
LaMacchia and freshman Kyle Fleck both were perfect 100/100 on American Skeet, and the Chargers ended with a 496/500.
“That ties for the highest team score that Hillsdale has ever scored in anything,” said LaMacchia.
Hintz called the performance outstanding.
“Our score is just unbelievable—a tough score to beat,” Hintz said. “That’s the kind of score that wins national championships.”
With a shoot off canceled, Fleck and LaMacchia share the title of champion for American Skeet with two other participants.
Junior Ida Brown only missed one target in women’s American Skeet, as well as ending in third place overall.
Freshman Josh Corbin earned second overall for the weekend ending only four targets behind first place.
“We’re lucky to compete on a team that’s already competing at a high level. We’re only really worried about scores that are in the top 10%,” said LaMacchia. “One thing you learn pretty quickly is every single target counts. You have to forget about it while you’re competing. One miss or one extra hit can make the difference between a win.”
The Shotgun team now enters a break until Feb. 26 when they participate at the Lindenwood Shoot in St. Louis, MO.
Hintz said he is amazed at his team’s performance.
“This is a really strong group,” Hintz said. “It’s certainly the best team that we’ve had since I took over coaching and I’m really interested to see what kind of improvements we’re going to be able to do in the spring.”