The Jesuit Dallas Competitive Shooting Team (JCST) found themselves on a bit of a hot streak as they wrapped up their season over the summer. First, they competed in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Texas State Championships and placed fourth overall as a team. Next, they went to Marengo, Ohio for the National Championships, where they placed ninth overall.
SCTP Texas State Championships
The highlight of the Rangers’ competition was an impressive performance by Drake Clark ’23, who shot four perfect rounds in trap, hitting all 25 targets each time, earning himself a score of 100 and a gold medal. Clark also had a perfect round in skeet, earning himself a score of 93 and an 88 in sporting clays.
Palmer Bowman ’23 earned a 99 and a bronze medal in trap, as well as a 92 in skeet and an 88 in sporting clays. Jake Follett ’23 scored a 93 in trap and an 88 in sporting clays. Winn Moore ’25 shot a perfect round in skeet with a final score of 96, earning him a silver medal in the Junior Varsity division. Chris Coniglio ’24 also had a perfect trap round, earning him a score of 88 in trap and a 75 in skeet.
These impressive performances earned the Rangers fourth place overall as a team among a field of 40 high school and collegiate teams.
All State
Connor Harrington ’22 earned a spot on the SASP Academic All-State Team for the second straight year. Clark and Bowman were selected to the Texas All-State Team for their performances in trap, 100, and 99 respectively. The top five performers at each event were chosen for the All-State team. At Nationals, their scores counted toward the Texas All-State Trap Team’s score. “At state when we shot our trap, Drake and I were both really surprised at how well we had done. That was my second time shooting over a ninety and I had shot a ninety-nine out of a hundred,” said Palmer Bowman ’23.
National Championships
The Jesuit Competitive Shooting Team sent six members to the National Championships to compete for the first time in the six-year history of the sport. The JCST sent Evan Bare ’22, Drake Clark ’23, Palmer Bowman ’23, Chris Coniglio ’24, Jake Follett ’24, and Winn Moore ’25 to compete representing Jesuit. Everyone competed in all the shotgun events, including 200 American skeet, 200 American trap, and 200 sporting clays, which were held over two days. In addition, Clark and Coniglio participated in pistol and rifle events.
When the club got to Marengo, Ohio, they noticed a few things. First, “something that was really nice was the temperature. We had gotten used to shooting in 90 or 100+ degree heat all summer and when we got there it was in the seventies,” said Drake Clark ’23. He also spoke about the accomplishment of making it to the National Championships. “We always travel to state (championships) in San Antonio, but that is just one really long drive, this was our first real travel, which was cool.”
Bowman, Clark, and Moore represented Jesuit in sporting clays and shot scores of 169, 156, and 176 clays respectively, for a total of 501 clays. This score was good enough to earn Jesuit 5th place in the “Open Squad” division. Bare, Follett, and Coniglio also shot 164, 154, and 170 respectively in sporting clays.
Bowman, Clark, and Moore also represented Jesuit in skeet. Bowman shot three perfect rounds and Clark shot four, including a stellar 75 skeet straight on day two. The three-man squad of Bowman (189), Clark (192), and Moore (180) shot a 561 to finish sixth in “Open Squad.” Coniglio, Follett, and Bare added to the Ranger’s total, contributing 167, 172, 163 respectively.
Clark shot an impressive 5 perfect rounds in trap, while Moore (5), Bowman (4), Coniglio (2), and Follett (1) all contributed perfect rounds themselves. Bowman shot 75 straight and Moore and Coniglio shot 50 straight. In trap, the 5-man squad of Clark (193), Bowman (195), Moore (197), Follett (179), and Coniglio (190) finished with a 954, only 15 clays out of first place, to bring home another “Open Squad” trophy. Bowman reflected upon how “day 3 was a really big day for our team because we had our trap squad where everyone shot at least ninety-four or better…and we saw that our squad score that day would have won state by a good amount.”
These scores were good enough to earn Jesuit ninth place overall in the national tournament. There were more than 4,400 athletes competing representing 37 different states.
Chris Coniglio and Drake Clark also participated in pistol and rifle events, though they were not eligible for awards as Jesuit did not field an official team.
Student Thoughts
In addition to shooting, they also enjoyed bonding and fellowship with their Jesuit brothers. “There was a lot of hanging out. I remember everyone going to dinner together which was fun. We would also practice together which was nice.” said Winn Moore ’25.
Chris Coniglio ’24 enjoyed how “they had these row of outfitters and different companies. We would walk into all the shops and look around.”
Some team members did more than just hang out with Jesuit friends. “My dad and I went to Canton one of the days to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” said Jake Follett ’24.
As for the future of the team, their experience at the National Championships helped. “It definitely gave us a new boost of confidence. I think we are going to be winning a lot more awards and we got our new practice schedule, we are practicing at least double of what we have ever done.” said Bowman. It also gave them a new goal to reach for at the end of the season. Follett said, “after seeing the good results we saw at nationals and even state, we have kind of realized we want to go all in on this.”
The Jesuit Competitive Shooting Team will kick off the 2022-2023 season with its first league tournament on Oct 1. For more information about the team, contact Sponsor and Head Coach Madeline Maggard at mmaggard@jesuitcp.org.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more Jesuit Shooting Competitive Shooting team news!
