Freshman Ava Downs qualified for the trap junior national team. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

Eight members of the Hillsdale College shotgun team traveled to Tucson, Arizona, from March 11-17 for the Olympic Trials, where half earned a place on the junior national team.

Junior Josh Corbin, junior Jordan Sapp, and freshman Madeline Corbin made it onto the skeet junior national team, while freshman Ava Downs will join the trap junior national team.

While they will not go to Paris in 2024, the junior national teams serve as a competitive bridge for teens and young adults to hopefully go to the Olympics later in life, all while still being a part of Team USA. Both the skeet and trap teams will travel to Porpetto, Italy, and Lima, Peru.

In the men’s skeet division, Sapp placed third in junior men and 10th in open men with an aggregate score of 240/250. Corbin followed in third in junior men and 12th in open men with a 235/250, while junior Kyle Fleck got third in collegiate men and 17th in open men with a 233/250. Sophomore Davis Hay earned 12th in junior men with a 198/250.

“Hillsdale has provided me with the tools I needed to make the Junior National team,” Corbin said. “Head coach Jordan Hintz has been very supportive to teammates wanting to pursue the international games and he provides us with the ammo, coaching, and funding to help us get there. The Halter Center is also one of the best ranges in the country and I am very fortunate to be able to train there.”

In the women’s skeet division, assistant coach Caitlin Connor earned a 233/250, placing her 8th in open women. Corbin finished second in junior women and ninth in open women, with a 231/250.

“I would’ve hoped for a few more targets but I am happy where I finished,” Downs said. “There were higher stakes and a lot of peoples’ life work was on the line. We had more people than normal and Tucson is a challenging range overall.”

No men competed in trap at Tucson. In the women’s trap division, senior Ida Brown finished ninth in open women and second in collegiate women with a 211/250. Downs followed with 10th in open women and second in junior women. Sophomore Sophia Bultema placed third in the paralympic category with a 175/250.

“Having Hillsdale represented at the Olympic Trials means so much to me because Hillsdale has given me such an amazing opportunity to become the best athlete that I can be,” Sapp said. “Hillsdale’s coaching and resources at the range guided me towards my success by providing me with everything I need, including one of the best Olympic skeet shooters as our assistant coach.” 

The Charger’s season ends this week in San Antonio at the Association of Collegiate Unions International/Scholastic Clay Target Program Nationals. The competition runs from March 18-23. Last season, the team placed fifth overall.