MR CTL Press Release
With wind gusts topping 35 mph on Sun. Apr. 29 at Capital City Gun Club and targets blowing every which way, members of the Missouri River Clay Target League (MR CTL) trap shooting teams from Bismarck, Century, Legacy, Mandan, Shiloh, and St. Mary’s High Schools bared down and put forth a solid effort in the second week of North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (ND CTL) competition.
The winds couldn’t stop Century Sophomore Blaine Howard, as his focus overcame the conditions on the way to posting two perfect rounds to lead all shooters with a total of 50; a first for any Bismarck-Mandan area school. With that score, Howard jumps to fifth overall in the state with an average of 24.25 after two weeks of competition.
Howard was followed by Shiloh Senior Austin Hartman who posted a total of 44. Legacy Senior Chance Porsborg, Shiloh Eighth Grader Trenton Radenz and Bismarck Freshman Zac Steinke rounded out the top five with totals of 43. Top shooters for MR CTL in League Week 2 were:
First Last Sch Gr R1 R2 Tot
Blaine Howard Cen 10 25 25 50
Austin Hartman Shi 12 20 24 44
Chance Porsborg Leg 12 21 22 43
Trenton Radenz Shi 8 21 22 43
Zac Steinke Bis 9 21 22 43
Adam Boehm Man 12 19 23 42
Ethan Knopp Cen 8 20 22 42
Andrew Ring Shi 9 19 23 42
Cameron Evanson Cen 11 20 21 41
William Gebhardt Bis 9 21 20 41
Lane Grant Cen 9 19 22 41
Isaiah Rexine Leg 9 21 20 41
Russell Koch StM 12 18 22 40
Braedy Wold Leg 9 19 21 40
“The wind definitely was a challenge, but it’s part of the game,” said MR CTL Volunteer Coach Nick Simonson, “these tougher conditions teach focus and how to adjust, and that’s what many of our participants did to find continued success,” he concluded.
In Conference standings, Shiloh sits third and Bismarck fifth in Class 1A-2 out of 8 teams. St. Mary’s comes in sixth out of eight teams in Conference 1A-3 and Century leads all teams in Conference 1A-4. Legacy sits in fifth overall in the larger Conference 2A-2, while Mandan is sixth.
In total, 180 shooters between the six Bismarck-Mandan area high schools are competing in the ND CTL spring season. Formed in 2015, the ND CTL competes in a virtual format, where student-athletes log their scores at a local shooting sports facility, which are then entered into the league’s online scoring system, where teams and individuals are ranked against their competitors statewide. This spring over 1,400 students at 49 schools are participating in the league.
MR CTL teams are led by a staff of 25 coaches and supported by 55 volunteers who help instruct, score and supervise as part of the 2018 ND CTL spring season. The program is funded by generous donations from local sponsors including: Presenting Sponsor Kupper Chevrolet, Kirkwood Scheels, Delta Waterfowl-Puddle Jumpers Chapter, Nodak Sportsmen’s Club, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Absolute Gun Dogs, Starion Bank, Lincoln Sportsman’s Club, Lexar Homes, Pretty Loaded, Warford Orthodontics, Lewis & Clark Wildlife Club, Wallwork Truck Center, Pheasants Forever-Lake McKenna Chapter, Advanced Business Methods, Entzel Trucking, RMS TriTec, Houston Engineering, Action Motor Sports, Double H Guns, Angie Sersha, Dakota Community Bank, iGear, Bobcat of Mandan, Central Dakota Strutters-NWTF, and Mandan Sporting Goods.
For more information on the league, visit ndclaytarget.com, and to keep up with MR CTL, bookmark this page.
(Featured Photo: Volunteer Coach Mark Sandness helps a young shooter take aim in the windy conditions of League Week 2. MR CTL Photo by Jason Lueder.)
