MR CTL Release
Members of the six area Bismarck-Mandan high school trap shooting teams started league competition off in the Fall Season of the North Dakota State High School Clay Target League with improved scores after an already impressive Reserve Week.
Century Freshman Ryan Bauer and Senior Blaine Howard posted totals of 49 along with Legacy Junior Jackson Bryant and Mandan Sophomore Calby Geiger to pace all MR CTL shooters in LW1. They were followed by Braves Junior Ian Eilers and Senior Jenna Thompson who each posted a pair of 24s to round out the top 6 with totals of 48. Bismarck Freshman Connor Clancy and Mandan Freshman Kylie Thompson each crushed their first perfect 25 ever for totals of 47 and a top 12 finish on the week. Samantha Bauer and JJ Entzel also tallied perfect rounds. Top shooters on the week for the Missouri River Clay Target League (MR CTL) were:
First Last Sch Gr R1 R2 Tot
Ryan Bauer Cen 9 24 25 49
Jackson Bryant Leg 11 24 25 49
Calby Geiger Man 10 25 24 49
Blaine Howard Cen 12 25 24 49
Ian Eilers Man 11 24 24 48
Jenna Thompson Man 12 24 24 48
Connor Clancy Bis 9 22 25 47
Preston Mitzel Cen 9 23 24 47
Ethan Oswald Cen 11 23 24 47
Kylie Thompson Man 9 22 25 47
Trenton Zainhofsky Cen 11 24 23 47
Across the 175-participant fall program, the league averaged jumped to 33 total targets from last week’s 31.7. Additionally, there were 120 rounds of 20 or more, a jump of 13 over Reserve Week and 87 shooters improved on their totals from the previous session.
Conferences for the fall league were announced by ND CTL last week with Shiloh and St. Mary’s ending up in Conference 1. Bismarck settled in to Conference 4 and the larger Conference 5 includes Century, Legacy and Mandan with Williston being the only non-area high school program in the final grouping.
“It will be interesting to see what kind of competition develops this season between our three bigger schools as they’re all in the same conference,” said MR CTL Volunteer and Legacy Head Coach John Paczkowski, “my guess is it will spur some fun rivalry and encourage great shooting from their participants to determine, locally, who is the best,” he concluded.
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 more than 1,700 shooters participated on over 60 teams
throughout the state and an estimated 800 will partake in the fall league. There are 175 Bismarck-Mandan area student-athletes participating in the ND CTL under the MR CTL banner. Capital City Gun Club hosts all six teams in the Bismarck-Mandan area in both spring and fall leagues.
MR CTL teams are led by a staff of 30 coaches and supported by 40 volunteers who help instruct, score and supervise as part of the 2019 ND CTL fall season. The program is funded by generous donations from local supporters including: Kupper Chevrolet, Kirkwood Scheels, MDU Resources Group, Friends of NRA, the NRA Foundation, Nodak Sportsman’s Club, North Dakota Wildlife Federation, Absolute Gun Dogs, Capital City Gun Club, Lincoln Sportsman’s Club, North American Coal Corporation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Beazley Engineering, P.C., Double H Guns, Lexar Homes, Clifford Erickson, LLLP, Gate City Bank, Warford Orthodontics, Delta Waterfowl-Puddle Jumpers Chapter, Starion Bank, Pretty Loaded and more than 30 other area sponsors.
For more information on the league, visit ndclaytarget.com, and to keep up with MR CTL, visit the six Bismarck-Mandan teams’ official website at mrctl.org.
Featured Photo: Legacy’s Jackson Bryant takes aim at a perfect round on his way to a four-way tie atop the League Week 1 individual scores. MR CTL Photo by Jason Lueder.
