For the first time in team history, the Lakers’ Trapshooting team brought home the 1st place Varsity trophy from the State Championships last Tuesday in Alexandria.

The conditions were amazing, with only a little bit of gusty winds.  “The whole team seemed so relaxed this year, and I believe that made the difference for us,” said head coach Jennie Stone. “We kept telling them there was no expectations except for them to give us the best they had for today.  And they sure did bring their best!” 

The Minnewaska Area team finished with a score of 483-out-of-500.  For scoring, each team competing takes the top five scores from the day to make up the “team” score.    Teams and shooters are divided into classification of Novice (season average of 14.99 or less), JV (average of 15.0-18.99) and Varsity (average of 19-25). 

“There were 52 teams made up of 981 shooters for the day.   With that volume of shooters, the accolades the Lakers claimed is quite impressive,” coach Stone said.

Tuesday’s State Championship was also a team qualifier for the State Team Championship that will be held in Prior Lake, Friday, June 23.  

The top 40 teams from the 9-day tournament in Alexandria will advance to that shoot.  We currently have three shooters (Mason Reichmann, Kyler Anderson and Dylan VanZee) going for the individual championship that day, but now are hoping our score is good enough to take the team down as well.”

The team will be heading to Prior Lake, Thursday, June 22.  There will be a state send-off for the team at 11 a.m., Thursday, June 22 along Minnesota Avenue in Glenwood.  Everyone is encouraged to cheer on the team.

•  With a score of 99, August Reichmann tied for 1st place, but with the tie breaker he took 2nd place for Varsity male out of 361 shooters, and 2nd out of 403 overall (including coed). 

Dylan VanZee was right behind him, crushing a 98-of-100.  In the process, he managed to crush 75 straight.  Only three shooters on the day were able to break 75-straight. He tied for 3rd place, but the tie breaker put him in 4th place. 

Mason Reichmann contributed 96×100  and finished 11th out of 361.  Makayla Hagen broke a 95×100 to place 2nd for Varsity girls.  She also placed 17th overall in the coed varsity group out of 403 shooters.  John Jenson completed the top 5 scores for the team with an awesome 95×100 and a 50 straight in the mix.  John finished 16th in the varsity male category.

•  “The top 5 scores are not the only story here.  There were so many big moments and personal bests,” coach Stone said.  “Holly Hennen placed 4th in the female Novice category out of 59 shooters.  Holly has been on fire the last part of the season and she had such a great day.  Her 79×100 had her grinning from ear to ear.

“Gabe Maasjo placed 14th in the male Novice category out of 134 shooters. What Gabe did today blew everyone away.  He shot a 79  including a 44×50 in the second half of competition.  This is from a brand new shooter who had a season average of under 10 this year! “

“Ethan Curry also had a fantastic day, smashing 93×100. Ethan broke his very first 25-straight, and followed it with a 24.  I am not sure if he believed he could do this well at state, but the coaches knew he could.  This is Ethan’s first year on the trap team and he finished the day 45th out of 361 varsity shooters. 

“Carson Meyer crushed his first 25 of the season and finished with his best of 94×100 and placing him 29th out of 361 male varsity.  He told me his goal for the day was to break a 90 and he surpassed that.  To say he was excited is an understatement!” 

Overall the team had nine shooters hit 25-straight, two shot 50-straight, and one 75-straight.

 “The whole team should be very proud.  The amazing part of this sport and our team is that if one person isn’t at their best, a teammate can pick it up for them and the team can still win,” coach Stone said.  “We have no one sitting the bench.  Everyone competes head to head.  Everyone has good days and bad days, but as a team, it balances out and in the end we had the best 5-score total.  What a day!”

Coach Jason VanZee also challenged the team in a “GPA CHALLENGE”.  He told them if the combined overall team grade-point-average was above 3.3 that he would cut his hair into a mohawk and die it green and blue for state.  “Of course, this group exceeded the expectation,” coach Stone said.  “They finished the year with a combined overall grade-point average of 3.6.  That is an overall “A” average. There are also 10 members out of 22 that had a personal g.p.a. of 3.75 or higher.”

Coach Stone and the team also want to thank the community for their support.  “We would like to send a shout out to the community for all the amazing support,” coach Stone said.  “We had people following the live score feed all day watching our progress and rooting us on.  The amount of spectators that showed up to watch us live was crazy.  The school AD Phil Johnsrud showed up to check it out. Our Facebook feed was lit up.  It was so awesome.  I think people are starting to see the value of this program and how good it is for our kids.”

Check out more photos in our photo gallery!