SFCC competes in two events

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) shooting sports team recently concluded a busy week with a pair of competitions. SFCC participated in an exhibition against William Woods University on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in Columbia. The event consisted of 100 American Skeet birds per participant.

SFCC came away with the top squad at the event. The squad consisted of sophomore Landon Schachtele of Armstrong, Missouri who shot a 95. Sophomore Bailey Carter of Montrose shot a 92. Freshman David Thomlinson of Hughesville shot a 92. Freshman Mason Rohan of Laddonia shot an 89 and freshman Alexander Hill of Belton shot an 88.

Schachtele earned the highest overall male at the event. Carter and Thomlinson were part of a three-way tie for second place.

"This event was a good confidence booster for our team going into the ACUI Central Regional," said Head Coach Sarah Manuel. "William Woods did a great job of hosting the event."

SFCC then traveled to the ACUI Central Regional Oct. 10 – 13 in Sparta, Illinois. SFCC only participated in the 100 American Trap, 100 American Skeet and 100 Sporting Clays.

SFCC began their competition with a 460 out of 500 in American Skeet. Carter shot a 95. Schachtele shot a 94. Freshman Ben Woeland of Bunceton shot a 91. Freshman Austin Livengood of Crestridge shot a 90 and Rohan shot a 90.

"It was refreshing to see some freshmen step up," said Manuel. "Those were some very competitive scores. It is not what our goal is, but it is a step in the right direction. We also had a lot of 88 scores, so everyone is very close. I'm very proud of them for putting the time and effort in. I was also pleased with their concentration with this being such a big tournament. We have a very young squad."

SFCC shot a 428 out of 500 in Sporting Clays as squad. Hill shot a 91. Rohan shot an 86. Schachtele shot an 85. Carter shot an 84 and Livengood shot an 84.

"It was good to see the competitiveness from our kids fighting for those top five spots," said Manuel.

SFCC shot a 468 out of 500 in American Trap to round out the competition. Hill shot a 100. Freshman Ava Cooper of West Plains shot a 95. Freshman Mitchell O'Reilly of Belton shot a 93. Caleb Bobb shot a 90. Freshman Gracie Kindell of Belton shot a 90.

"Alex Hill finished in a five-way tie for first place," said Manuel. "He was going against four other participants. He ended up taking fourth place in the tiebreaker. It was a very proud moment for me

as a coach to see him step up on that stage as a freshman and perform as he did. His teammates were all there cheering him on."

"I was very proud of what we accomplished at the ACUI Central Regional," said Manuel. "We took fourth place overall in the Classic All-American Division. As a coach, it makes me excited for the possibilities later in the season. This was a very good showing of what this young team could do in the next couple of months."

David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics