“Wahoooooooo!”
Sophomore Andrew Smith could not contain his enthusiasm. He was a national champion.
Smith is one of the seven members of the Hillsdale College shotgun team that won the Division III Association of College Unions International National Shooting Team Championship last week in San Antonio, Texas.
A $15,000 endowment also accompanies the prestigious title and will be used for the college’s shooting program.
Shooting coach Bart Spieth started the program just one and a half years ago, mostly with members who learned the sport at Hillsdale. These members include senior Nate Oberholtzer, senior Kyle Jazwiecki, Smith, junior Blake Scott, and senior Dan Klimas. Freshmen Ed Trancik and Joe Kain were recruited to shoot for the college.
Winning a national title this soon into the program’s history is rare and an admirable accomplishment for the college community.
“Last year we did not take a full team down, so that we could scope out the competition and see what it would take to win,” Spieth said. “We came back with a plan and put it into place.”
The national title came from the accumulation of the top three individual places in each event throughout the week-long competition. The Chargers took first place in the five stand event, where a shooter shoots fifty targets, and in sporting clays, which is out of 100 targets. They snagged second place in American skeet and international skeet, and third place in American trap and international trap, which were all out of 100 targets.
Although individuals on the team did well — especially Scott, who placed 12th out of 303 competitors in international trap — the national title came from a complete team effort and consistent achievement throughout the week.
“Without any one of us, we would not have won the championship,” Jazwiecki said.
The team will continue to grow and depend on a well-rounded effort from all its shooters next year. Spieth plans to actively recruit the best and brightest junior shooters in the country. Three recruits are already coming in next year, and he said he is still working to recruit more.
Heading into the competition, the Chargers were feeling confident from their individual meet the week before in Arkansas, where they fared extremely well against world-class shooters. Despite this confidence, there was a moment when Hillsdale was in danger of losing the title.
As the competition drew to a close, the Chargers only led by a mere eleven targets. However, the team finished strongly with 1,402 targets, securing the outright victory and creating history in a new and inexperienced program.
With the win in Division III, the Chargers will automatically move up to Division II next year, where they will be challenged by bigger teams with even better shooters. But Spieth said he is confident that they will rise to that challenge with the support of the college community.
“Hillsdale College has taken the shooting program seriously. Many other schools do it as an activity, but Hillsdale wants a championship team, and the support we get from the college is full,” Spieth said.
The Chargers are excited about the challenge and opportunity, as has been the mindset of the dedicated team all year. They are not settling with their title, as they look onto greater things.
“We will have the nicest facility and building in the country, bar none. As the facility and program grows, our success grows,” Spieth said. “Given another year’s work, I’m looking for a top five finish next year, possibly higher than that. In two-to-three years, I’d like a Division II national title.”
