Submitted Photo Jorn Brose of South Prairie receives an award for his finish in the individual high gun finals

The 2022 USA High School Clay Target League (USAHSCTL) National Championship took place over the weekend in Mason, Mich. where thousands of athletes participated in both individual and team events, with the goal of showcasing their abilities among teams throughout the country.

Over the course of July 8-10, a total of 175 high schools and 230 teams participated with the first two days consisting of qualifying rounds. North Dakota was well represented at the USAHSCTL National Championship with teams and individuals from Berthold-North Shore-Plaza High School, Davies High School, Fargo North High School, Sheyenne High School, South Prairie High School, Valley City High School, Williston High School, and more.

In the first qualifier for the team competition, the top 80 teams advanced to the finals. South Prairie Squad One took the top spot for North Dakota teams, coming in at No. 17 with squad scores of 99-99-95-95-92 and a reverse run score of 92-76-49-44-22.

Trailing South Prairie Squad One and moving on to the final round was Williston at No.31 (99-96-96-92-92 squad score, 4-2-9-0-24 reverse run), South Prairie Squad Two at No. 54 (98-95-95-94-88 squad score, 22-11-0-6-8 reverse run), Fargo North at No. 59 (97-95-94-92-91 squad score, 5-24-47-19-6 reverse run), and Sheyenne at No. 76 (96-95-94-90-90 squad score, 70-11-14-4-24 reverse run).

For individual qualifiers, there were over 1,800 athletes that competed and only the top 400 advanced to the final round.

The local athletes that advanced to the final were Jorn Brose from South Prairie coming in at No. 13 (99 score, 31 reverse run), Matthew Moe from Red River at No. 15 (99 score, 21 reverse run), Charlie Wilcox from Davies at No. 37 (98 score, 53 reverse run), Shawn Peterson II from Sheyenne at No. 49 (98 score, 29 reverse run), Zach Benson from Fargo North at No. 100 (97 score, 23 reverse run), Dylan Cleghorn from Jamestown at No. 120 (97 score, 6 reverse run), Oakley Eagleson from Sheyenne at No. 123 (97 score, 5 reverse run), Samual Abel from South Prairie at No. 125 (97 score, 3 reverse run), Connor Johnson from South Prairie at No. 142 (96 score, 43 reverse run), Brenan Kirk from Williston at No. 161 (96 score, 28 reverse run), Coye Steffan from Beulah at No. 162 (96 score, 28 reverse run), Ethan Abel from South Prairie at No. 184 (96 score, 11 reverse run), Evan Mielke from Valley City at No. 209 (96 score, 1 reverse run), Gage Deaver from Berthold at No. 258 (95 score, 14 reverse run), Eric Ingstad from Valley City at No. 271 (95 score, 10 reverse run), Logan Holsing from Sheyenne at No. 282 (95 score, 5 reverse run), Matthew Abel from South Prairie at No. 286 (95 score, 4 reverse run), Brianna Helsene from South Prairie at No. 308 (94 score, 65 reverse run), Logan Wickenheiser from Sheyenne at No. 319 (94 score, 37 reverse run), Joshua Henricks from Sheyenne at No. 322 (94 score, 34 reverse run), Benjamin Lindbo from South Prairie at No. 356 (94 score, 11 reverse run), Ty Awender from Oakes at No. 378 (94 score, 3 reverse run), and David Abel from South Prairie at No. 388 (94 score, 0 reverse run).

For the team finals, the top five teams received awards. While North Dakota did not have any team award winners, they still had an impressive showing that they should be proud of. South Prairie Squad One had the highest finish, coming in at No. 14 overall, with South Prairie Squad Two not far behind, finishing at No. 18 overall.

The remaining finishes for North Dakota teams were Williston at No. 33, Sheyenne at No. 44, Fargo North at No. 49, Berthold at No. 54, Valley City at No. 119, and Davies at No. 216 in a final field of 232 teams.

The male and female individual high gun finals took place on Sunday, with the top 10 in each group receiving an award. In the female competition, North Dakota did not have an award winner, however, there were plenty of athletes who finished strongly among a final field of 262.

Brianna Helsene from South Prairie was the highest finisher at No.30. Trailing Helsene was Ava Gillig from Beulah (No. 34), Taylor Martin from Fargo North (No.39), Brooklyn Woodard from Fargo North (No. 62), Cali Steffan from Beulah (No. 106), Emily Hanson from Bishop Ryan (No. 144), Gretchen Deaver from Berthold (No. 197), Tamika Holte from Jamestown (No. 202), Miranda Novodvorsky from South Prairie (No. 207), Kelly Gjovik from Barnes County North (No. 229), Jerica Bryson from Fargo North (No. 255), and Savanna Van Raden from Fargo North (No. 257).

On the male side, there were two award winners in the high gun finals from North Dakota. Jorn Brose from South Prairie was the top finisher in the state at No. 8 overall and just behind him was Matthew Moe from Red River at No. 9 overall.

Rounding out the remaining finishes in the top 200 for the individual high gun finals are Samual Abel from South Prairie (No. 12), Logan Holsing from Sheyenne (No. 46), Zach Benson from Fargo North (No. 70), Dylan Cleghorn from Jamestown (No. 93), Ty Awender from Oakes (No. 99), Connor Johnson from South Prairie (No. 113), Oakley Eagleson from Sheyenne (No. 119), Brenan Kirk from Williston (No. 127), Coye Steffan from Beulah (No. 132), Shawn Peterson II from Sheyenne (No. 174), Gage Deaver from Berthold (No. 185), Matthew Abel from South Prairie (No. 187), and Logan Wickenheiser from Sheyenne (No. 199).

All in all, it was a successful showing for North Dakota at the USAHSCTL National Championship. From a plethora of athletes who qualified for the finals, to individuals taking home awards and finishing in the top 200 in a massive field, the abilities that the athletes showed over the weekend were remarkable.