Week two of the Becker High School trap shooting league saw the Bulldogs make up ground in the standings and are now sitting in first place by 639 points.
In week one, Becker had a down week, scoring 2,921.5 points, second to New London-Spicer’s 3,088. This week, NLS tumbled (2,468.5) while Becker improved to 3,274 points. Most of the other teams in the Class AA Conference 4 improved slightly but not enough to overtake the Bulldogs for the top spot.
“We had folks last week that scored nine-to-10 birds more then week one,” said Head Coach Cary Rauch. “Thank you to everyone for your hard work.”
A lot more shooters have been getting hands-on experience since the Minnesota State High School League last year recognized trap shooting as an official sport. (The league incorporated in 2008.)
John Nelson, vice president of the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League, said participation increased from about 6,100 last spring to about 8,600 this season. The league is open to sixth- through 12th-graders. Minimum age to complete the required gun-safety training is 12 years old.
Trap shooting participation during the 2013-14 school year ranked 16th among Minnesota's competitive athletic high school sports — well behind No. 1 football (25,582) but ahead of boys hockey (5,718).
Conference Standings
1). Becker - 6.195.5 points; 2). New London-Spicer - 5,556.5; 3). Brainerd - 5,549; 4). Isle - 4,458.5; 5). Lakeview - 3,919.5; 6). MACCRAY - 3,794.5; 7). Chisago Lakes - 3.319; 8). North Lakes Academy - 1,247.5.
Top 10 Males
1). Blake Zortman (Isle) - 23.25 average; 2). Michael Sakry (Becker) - 23.00; 3). David Mars (Brainerd) - 23.00; 4). Tom Spaulding (NLS) - 22.75; 5). Daniel Johnson (MACCRAY) - 22.75; 6). Andrew Muesing (Brainerd) - 22.75; 7). Cody Pulsifer (NLS) - 22.50; 8). Carter Garding (Becker) - 22.25; 9). Samuel Jensen (Brainerd) - 22.25; 10). Nicholas McCullough (Brainerd) - 22.00.
Top 10 Females
1). Heidi Voigt (Becker) - 21.00; 2). Kayla Larson (Isle) - 18.25; 3). Samantha May (Becker) - 17.75; 4). Maria Sakry (Becker) - 17.50; 5). Allison Gates (Chisago Lakes) - 16.75; 6). Kaitlyn Anfinson (NLS) - 16.75; 7). Karen Schroeder (Becker) - 16.50; 8). Annie Sandry (MACCRAY) - 16.25; 9). Claire Voigt (Becker) - 16.25; 10). McKenna Anderson (Becker) - 16.00.
