Merrill’s JV Trap Team also wins 2024 Conference Championship
BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Merrill Bluejay Varsity Trap Team: Undefeated 2024 Conference Champions
Due to inclement weather Tuesday night, May 21, 2024, the Merrill Bluejay Trap Team changed their Week 9 shooting to Thursday evening, May 23. “The weather was perfect for busting clay tonight,” one of the assistant coaches said. Most but not all of the shooters were able to make the Thursday night shoot, so a couple had to fit in their shooting time in order to calculate the final scores. But once all the shooting had quieted and the scores were tallied, it was official: The Merrill Bluejay Varsity Trap Team had officially ended their regular season as the only team that remained undefeated to become the 2024 Conference Champions!
In Week 9, their final week of regular season shooting, the Bluejays were up against the Rhinelander High School Trap Team, and the Bluejays took the win, 119-111. Varsity Senior Jacob Walsh contributed to that winning score, ending his high school trap shooting career with a perfect 25. He also shot a 25 for his practice round, so that was “50 straight”! Way to go out with a bang, coaches said. A very impressive accomplishment!
Congratulations to the undefeated Merrill Bluejay Varsity Trap Team and 2024 Conference Champs!
After this week’s shooting, Merrill Varsity shooter Bobby Hoff slipped to second place Varsity shooter in the Conference with a score of 212 as Lakeland’s Ethan Schumacher took the lead with a 213. Merrill’s Christopher Holz retained his third place position in the Conference with a score of 210. And Merrill’s Nicholas Kriegel got back into the top five, as fifth place Varsity shooter in the Conference with a score of 207. [The fourth place shooter, Marcus Patterson of Tomahawk, also had a score of 207, but edged out Kriegel for fourth place with 118 RR compared to Kriegel’s 115 RR.}
Merrill’s other top Varsity shooters rounding out the Bluejays’ top five shooters for the season include Landon Hipke (196, 77 RR) and Landen Klockziem (196, 38 RR).
Merrill Bluejay JV Trap Team: 2024 Conference Champions
Merrill’s Bluejay JV Trap Team also claimed a Week 9 victory over Rhinelander, winning 114-91.
Merrill’s Bluejay JV Trap Team also ended their season as Conference Champions, winning eight of their nine weeks of competition. Though discouraged after losing to Tomahawk in Week 6 of shooting by a single point, that loss ultimately didn’t define the outcome of their season. With just one loss, the Bluejay JV Trap Team pulled out ahead of the competition to take the lead in the Conference.
SPASH also won eight of their nine weeks of competition, but the Bluejays were the clear winners when the points were tallied. The JV Bluejays totaled 1028 points for the season, compared to 934 season points for SPASH.
Congratulations to the Merrill Bluejay JV Trap Team, also 2024 Conference Champions!
After Week 9 of shooting, two Merrill JV shooters remain in the top five shooters in the Conference in their division: Mathew Maas is the second place Conference JV shooter with a score of 206, and Matthew Wiederhoeft is the fourth place JV Conference (204, RR 59) shooter. Wiederhoeft’s score of 204 tied him with the third place JV shooter in the Conference, but he was edged out by that shooter’s 91 RR.
Merrill’s Maria Ashbrenner and Lily Kufahl solidly retained their spots as first and second place female JV shooters in the Conference, with scores of 191 and 169, respectively.
Maas, Wiederhoeft, Alex Petrowski, Mason Meyer, and Ashbrenner were the top five scoring members of the Merrill Bluejay JV Trap Team this season with scores of 206, 204, 203, 202, and 191, respectively.
Intermediate shooting
In Week 9 of shooting, Merrill Bluejay Intermediate Advanced and Intermediate Entry Trap Teams also claimed victories over Rhinelander, with scores of 106-48, and 98-80, respectively.
The Bluejay Intermediate Advanced Trap Team came in second place in the Conference after regular season shooting, falling short of the Championship which went to the Mosinee Trap Team. Merrill’s Intermediate Advanced team lost in two weeks of shooting competition and the Mosinee Intermediated Advanced team was undefeated.
The top five shooters on the Merrill Intermediate Advanced Trap Team this season were Bradley Schmidt, Tavin Heidemann, Kaleb Staus, Max Westover, and Easton Romatoski, with scores of 169, 166, 164, 163, and 142, respectively.
The Bluejay Intermediate Entry Trap Team came in fourth in the Conference after winning six of their nine matches in as many weeks. Merrill’s Corbin Hanson emerged as fifth place shooter in the Conference at the Intermediate Entry level with a score of 168.
The top five shooters on the Merrill Intermediate Entry Trap Team this season were Hanson, Jacob Hoffman, Jaxson Ames, Robert Giese, and Charles Graap, with scores of 168, 164, 163, 151, and 146, respectively.
Next up for Bluejay Trap
The Merrill Bluejay Varsity Trap Team will compete in two separate upcoming tournaments: The Conference shoot in Brokaw at Wausau Skeet & Trap Club on May 31 and the State Trap Tournament in June.