Turner Thompson was the top-rated shooter in his class all season, so it was only fitting that he finish the season that way as well.

The standout from Groton won multiple state championships during the South Dakota Clay Target State Tournament at the Aberdeen Gun Club.

Thompson hit 98 out of 100 targets in the trap shooting portion on Saturday to finish as the Class 1A High Overall Male, High Overall Varsity, top Overall Conference Male, as well as top Overall Season Average Male, while leading the Tigers to the state team championship as well. Groton also had the top girls’ shooter in 1A with Cadence Feist.

“Our shooters are shooting a lot,” Thompson said of the team success. “We’re shooting almost 600 rounds a week vs. other schools that are shooting close to 100. It’s a lot of four-day practices over 100 rounds per practice.”

Even with all of his success, the junior said there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“It’s pretty hard to master it, especially with weather going into play with us being in South Dakota,” Thompson said following his skeet round on Sunday. “Everything is always moving around, it’s never the same every night. Trap is a mental game, but it’s hard even if you’re good at it.”

The shooters had to contend with windy conditions both days, but Thompson didn’t mind it. In fact, he said it actually worked to his team’s advantage.

“We excel in wind. We shoot better than most schools from the state in wind, because we practice in it so often,” Thompson said. “So it actually probably helped us out a lot (Saturday).

Thompson hopes to be able to secure a college scholarship in the sport some day. His best streak to date is nailing 173 targets in a row that were recorded, and said that his unrecorded amount would be even higher.

“When I’m on, I’m on,” Thompson said, “and when I’m off, I’m really off.”

SIBLING SHOOTERS

A brother-sister combination were doing their best to help the Aberdeen Central team on Sunday.

Joshua Ohlhauser and his sister, Kaylee, were both competing in the trap shooting event. Josh got his start in clay target first and now Kaylee has followed suit.

Both shooters also take aim at a different kind of target as well, being involved in archery.

Josh said archery is something he can do year around. While it may seem easier to shoot a stationary target, there is also a more challenging component.

“In archery, the target doesn’t move,” he said, “but you can walk back farther and get more yardage.”

Kaylee also plays tennis in addition to competing in archery, but says one sport is her favorite.

“I would have to say trap,” she said and for one main reason. “Explosions. I get to shoot at something that explodes when I hit it.”

Like their teammates and competitors, the shooters had to deal with the breezy conditions which impacts shooting.

“Wind is an issue,” Josh said. “The target goes up and down, and so when you shoot, the target goes up as you shoot so you can shoot right underneath it.”

Kaylee was one of three Central girls shooting in the tournament and has noticed dramatic improvement since she started in the sport.

“Last year I was shooting a lot of zeroes, ones, not even five in a row,” she said, “and this year especially now, I actually hit a new high score in my first round which is 37. I’m really proud of myself.”

BOWDLE BOBCATS AT HOME ON THE RANGE

Sunday’s competition featured the schools with the most shooters. While logic would indicate that the bigger the school the more shooters you have, that is not always the case. There competing in the middle of squads like Aberdeen Central, Mitchell and Yankton was the squad from Bowdle.

The school has more students involved in trap (38) than any other sport in the school.

“It makes be proud that our school still has something big going on without having to team up with other schools,” said senior shooter Trinity Kennedy.

She believes that the sport helps people with their self-confidence.

“I just feel like some people get their confidence from this,” Kennedy said. “They make a goal and then they shoot their goal, and they make a higher goal and they shoot it, and it brings up their confidence.”

Kennedy was part of an all-girl line on Sunday, something seldom seen at the state tournament. Kennedy had an explanation for that as well.

“We have a quite a few more girls than other schools do,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s because of course we’re farmers, and we’re tough girls and we’re hunters.”

Kennedy said she had to adjust her shooting style a bit during the state tourney. It had more to do with the trap houses than the wind, though.

“My shooting strategy is different at our field, because our machines are a lot faster than these ones,” Kennedy said. “So we get a lot more practice with faster shooting instead of the slower shooting.”

Kennedy, who plans to attend the South Dakota School of Massage Therapy in the fall, got a chance to wear her Bowdle Bobcats gear while competing one last time. The school is part of a cooperative with Eureka and Edmunds Central in most other sports known as the North Central Thunder, so it’s seldom that the Bobcats mascot gets used.

“I’ve always loved the Bowdle Bobcats,” Kennedy said.

To see results from the tournament click on the following link:

https://claytargetscoring.com/tournament/highGun.php?class=V&gender=F&tournState=sd&userType=tournpub&tournamentID=43&tournDateID=55&tournType=Trap