SFCC Posts Strong Finish at ACUI/SCTP National Tournament

SAN ANTONIO – The State Fair Community College shooting sports team earned a fourth-place finish in the Classic All-American competition (Division IV) at the ACUI/SCTP National Tournament, held March 16-22 at the National Shooting Complex.

 

The Classic All-American includes 100 targets each in American trap, American skeet and sporting clays. Team scores are calculated by adding the top five individual scores in each discipline.

 

SFCC placed seventh in American trap. Freshman Mitchell O'Reilly of Belton led the team with a score of 97. Freshman Broc Barnes of West Plains and sophomore Bailey Carter of Montrose each shot 96. Sophomore Landon Schachtele of Armstrong also scored 96, and freshman Caleb Hensley of Belton added a 93. The team totaled 478 out of 500.

 

"A lot of these kids shot really well in American trap," head coach Sarah Manuel said. "We fought through a lot of wind every day we shot. I was impressed with the way Mitchell was able to fight the wind and also be able to stay that locked in."

 

In sporting clays, SFCC placed sixth. Freshman David Thomlinson of Hughesville shot an 86, Carter 85, freshman Alexander Hill of Belton 79, Schachtele 79 and freshman Mason Rohan of Laddonia 73, for a total of 402.

 

"We dealt with a little less wind that day," Manuel said. "It was really good shooting for the conditions that we were dealing with."

 

The Roadrunners finished 10th in American skeet. Thomlinson led the team with a 96. Hill shot a 92, freshman Austin Livengood of Crest Ridge 91, O'Reilly 89 and Barnes 89 for a team total of 457.

 

"We had 20-mile-an-hour winds when we were shooting American skeet," Manuel said. "David Thomlinson did an amazing job of shooting at the target instead of anticipating the wind."

 

"Overall, Broc Barnes was there every step of the way helping and supporting his teammates," Manuel added. "He continues to want to get better. David Thomlinson finished first on the team in American skeet and sporting clays. I'm looking forward to working with both of those freshmen and allowing them to develop into becoming leaders for us next year.

"It is always emotional for sophomores to enter that last event. They didn't crumble, they kept their heads high and shot the best they could. Landon Schachtele came out with a fourth-place finish in his division of American trap after a shoot-off. Overall, the kids did a great job with the conditions they were in. We didn't end up where I thought we were going to. At the end of the day, those were the cards we were dealt."

 

Freshman Caleb Bobb of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, finished fifth in his division in American skeet.

 

Seven Roadrunners earned Academic Achievement Awards from the ACUI, which honors student-athletes with a 3.5 GPA or higher: Hill, Livengood, freshman Ava Cooper of West Plains, Carter, Bobb, sophomore Gage Young of Pilot Grove and O'Reilly.

 

"Being a student is hard enough, being a student-athlete adds a different level of expectation," Manuel said. "For those seven student-athletes to be able to achieve that award says that their dedication not just to shooting sports but their State Fair education is top-notch."

 

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics