A naturally Covid-19 safe, socially distant sport, the Jesuit competitive shooting team has been one of the lucky teams able to continue to compete. In competitive shooting, the competitors are not required to wear masks because of the fact that they are always distant. For that reason, the team was able to begin practice in the late spring of 2020, unlike many other teams at Jesuit.
So far this year, Jesuit has competed in many events in which the shooters compete with schools such as Allen, Waxahachie, Midlothian, Highland Park, and many others.
On Saturday, January 16th, both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams competed well, with many competitors shooting in the top of their events.
In the sporting clays and skeet tournament, Jesuit placed 4th. For those new to the terminology of competitive shooting, skeet is 4 rounds of 25 shots at crossing targets. Sporting clay tournaments are 100 shots at spontaneous stations. These tournaments are long and intense, meaning that those who are very experienced will come out on top.
The Sporting Clay & Skeet Tournament Results:
- Allen Eagles Clay Target Team (Allen HS)
- Waxahachie Shotgun Team (Waxahachie HS)
- Midlothian Clay Target Team (club team)
- Jesuit Competitive Shooting Team
- Highland Park Clay Target Team (HPHS)
- Coppell Competitive Shooting Team (Coppell ISD students))
- Legacy Christian Academy (Frisco, TX)
- Clay Eating Lyons (Nazarene Christian Academy – Crowley, TX)
- Ft Worth Claymores (club team Azle, Tx)
Sporting Clays – total of 8 teams; 199 athletesVARSITY – winning scores:Â 93, 90, 89 (all Allen Eagles shooters)JCST Varsity top 3 scores:
- Welborne, Brittan 79
- Reznicek, John 75
- Clark, Drake 74
JV – winning scores:Â 87 (Allen), 77 (Waxahachie), 75 (Midlothian)JCST Jr Varsity top 3 scores:
- Pawsat, Ike 66
- Casey, John 64
- Miller, William 63
Skeet – total of 9 teams; 187 athletesVARSITY – winning scores:Â 98 (Waxahachie), 95 (Allen), 94 (Allen)JCST Varity top 3 scores:
- Bowman, Palmer 86
- Clark, Drake & Bowman, Palmer 83
- Welborne, Brittan 82
JV – winning scores:Â 98 (Allen), 94 (Arlington), 91 (Allen)JCST Jr Varsity top 3 scores:
- Pawsat, Ike 72
- Miller, William 64
- Bruce, John Justin (JJ) 59
In an interview with Coach Maggard, she highlighted the accomplishments of one sophomore with particular skill and achievement. Sophomore Christian Straffon, a top competitor on Jesuit’s team, says that in order to prepare for a tournament, he likes to relax his mind in order to prepare for a successful shoot. He also loves to “practice and try to focus on [his] craft.” In order to be successful in these tournaments, he says, you need to “focus on the direction of the clay” and focus on the “speed to try to knock it out of the sky.” Christian hit 25 targets straight in the last trap tournament.
The Jesuit competitive shooting team will be facing off in another event on February 20th, and we wish the Rangers the best of luck in this competition!
Check back to The Roundup for more coverage of competitive shooting!
