Student-athletes compete in largest youth trap shooting championship in Iowa

Athletes from 118 teams across Iowa converged on the Iowa State Trapshooting Homegrounds, north of Cedar Falls, from June 2-8, for the 2025 Scholastic Clay Target Program State Trap Shooting Championship. 

Nearly 3,000 athletes from fourth grade through high school shot more than 771,000 clay targets for the week, competing in three different competitions; singles trap, doubles trap, and handicap trap.

The Pleasant Valley Trap Team won the varsity team title in singles trap, while the Ankeny Centennial Jaguars were the top varsity team in handicap and doubles trap. Individual honors are also awarded by age group for each discipline. A complete list of the results can be found online.

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The All-State team for singles trap is determined by the combination of the athlete’s league score and the championship event score.

Ladies Singles Trap – All State Team

1. Quincy O’Donnell, Underwood Youth Trap Team, Captain
2. Lexi Henning, Wilton Trap Team
3. Lily Jennings, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports
4. Hayley Burke, Oelwein Trap Team
5. Mackenzie Gabrielson, North Scott Trap Team

Men’s Singles Trap – All State Team

1. Matthew Eilers, Pleasant Valley Trap Team, Captain
2. Ethan Skow, Ankeny Hawks Shooting Sports
3. Grant Yuska, Pleasant Valley Trap Team
4. Ledger Smith, Albia
5. Nick Kelchen, Ankeny Hawks Shooting Sports

The high-all-around trap team is determined by the combination of the athlete’s trap singles, doubles, and handicap championship events scores. 

Ladies Trap High-All-Around

1. Lexi Henning, Wilton Trap Team, Captain
2. Quincy O’Donnell, Underwood Youth Trap Club
3. Lily Jennings, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports
4. Mackenzie Gabrielson, North Scott Trap Club
5. Evelynn Erhardt, Cedar Valley Shotgunners
6. Kaitlyn Myers, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports

Men’s Trap High-All-Around

1. Matthew Eilers, Pleasant Valley Trap Team, Captain
2. Ethan Skow, Ankeny Hawks Shooting Sports
3. Hunter Strong, Davenport Youth Trap
4. Izaac Zihlman, Mt. Pleasant Panthers
5. Spencer Block, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports
6. Hunter Beason, Wilton Trap Team

The Scholastic Clay Target Program is one of the largest, and fastest growing youth clay target programs in the country. Student athletes from elementary through high school and college have the opportunity to compete in sports such as trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines like bunker trap and international skeet. 

The Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Shooting Program are youth development programs that promote shooting sports and competitive shooting as a means to help young individuals achieve their highest potential and become their best selves.

The goal is to instill personal values and character traits, such as fair play, compassionate understanding, individual responsibility, sportsmanship, self-discipline, and personal commitment in young people.

For more information on the Scholastic Clay Target or Action Shooting Programs in Iowa, contact Jonathan Jones at 515-313-8048 or Jonathan.Jones1@dnr.iowa.gov.