Huge trap shooting championship kicks off in Alexandria, Minnesota

The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League’s 2024 Trap Shooting Championship is up and running at the Alexandria Shooting Park in west-central Minnesota.

The event, which runs June 10-18 this year and is dubbed the “world’s largest shooting event,” will host more than 8,000 student athletes from more than 350 schools in Minnesota. 

All league-registered student-athletes are invited to shoot at the championship where they compete against trap shooters from programs of their similar team size. They also shoot against others at their same experience level in novice, junior varsity and varsity divisions.

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Minnesota’s youth trap shooters shine at huge 9-day championship in Alexandria

The smaller Class A programs kicked off the event on Monday, while the largest Class 9A programs wrap up the championship shoot on June 18. 

Each athlete shoots 100 clay targets, and their score is used for both individual and team competitions. The top five individual scores from each program make up the team score. 

The championship in Alexandria also serves as a qualifying event. Top teams from the entire championship earn a spot at the Minnesota State High School League’s State Tournament at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake on June 21. The top individual shooters based on regular-season scoring averages also compete at that final state tournament.

St. Louis Park High School won the Class A title from the first day of shooting in Alexandria on Monday with a score of 469 (out of a possible 500). Johnny Erdmann (96), Landon Goelz (96), Jacob Erlandson (94), Eleanor Cruz (92), and Daniel Lodermeier (91) contributed to that winning team score. Glenville-Emmons High School (456) was second and Menahga High School (456) was third.

Olivia Thesing of LaCrescent High School was the top Class A female shooter with a score of 96 on Monday. There was a five-way tie for the top male shooter in Class A as Noah Backe of Northeast Range, Emmett Knutson of Glenville-Emmons, Wyatt Schmalz of Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, Caleb Burns of Foothills Christian Academy, and Brett Rychlock of Grygla-Gatzke all busted 97 clays.

Results from the championship can be found at https://mn.usaclaytarget.com/trap-shooting-tournament-leaderboard/.

Watch for more coverage of this event coming up from Minnesota Outdoor News.