Merrill Bluejay trap team wraps up outstanding regular season

Merrill’s trap shooters closed the book on an outstanding regular 2026 season in the Great Northern Trap Conference, with Bluejays of all ages bringing home Conference titles, All-Conference recognition, and top finishes in nearly every division on the roster.
To wrap up the regular season, the coaches named the team’s top finishers in each division using cumulative scores from the year.
At the Varsity level, Christopher Holz won the boys’ division, ahead of Alex Petrowski in second and Hunter Renken in third. Maria Ashbrenner won the girls’ division, with Allison Lange finishing second.
Capping off the team’s regular-season honors, Mason Meyer was named the Bluejays’ High Overall Male Athlete, and Lily Kufahl was named High Overall Female Athlete.
The Junior Varsity boys’ division saw Collin Gennrich come out on top, with Tavin Heidemann and Otto Lee following in second and third. Charlotte Schlagel was the top finisher among the JV girls.

Among the boys in Intermediate Advanced, Charles Graap finished on top, trailed by Alex Neumann in second and Lucas Sharp in third. On the girls’ side, Malayna Kufahl took the division top honors, with Melia Lee finishing second.
Kaden Westrich led the boys in the Intermediate Entry division, with Jacob Sharp close behind in second and CJ Rickher rounding out the top three. Adalyn Graap topped the girls’ Intermediate Entry field.

Great Northern Trap Conference results
No team in the Bluejay program had a season quite like the Intermediate Advanced squad, which ran the table at 9-0 and was crowned Great Northern Trap Conference Champions without dropping a single dual against Conference opposition.
The rest of the Bluejay program wasn’t far behind. Merrill’s Varsity and Junior Varsity squads each finished one game off the top of the Conference standings at 8-1, and the Intermediate Entry team landed in third place at 7-2. Every division in the Merrill program finished its Conference slate with more wins than losses, keeping the Bluejays among the league’s top programs from start to finish.

Individual shooters made just as strong an impression across the Conference leaderboard.
Senior Mason Meyer topped every male shooter in the Conference, hitting 217 of a possible 225 targets to capture the Great Northern Trap Conference High Overall Male honors. The margin was just one target, a result that underscored the coaches’ continuous reminders all season long that every bird counts.
Lily Kufahl was the top-scoring girl in Varsity competition, finishing with 203 targets to earn First Place Female honors. Her 14th-place overall finish in the Conference standings also brought her Varsity Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition.
Christopher Holz landed at No. 10 overall among Varsity shooters in the Conference with a score of 206, good enough for Second Team All-Conference Varsity honors. Right behind him, Alex Petrowski finished 16th overall with 202 targets, earning Varsity Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition of his own.
In the Junior Varsity ranks, Collin Gennrich shot a 208 to finish as the division’s second-ranked male, while Tavin Heidemann’s 201 put him fourth overall.
Malayna Kufahl turned in a 202 to take second among Intermediate Advanced girls, and Charles Graap’s 195 was good for fourth among the division’s boys.
Kaden Westrich finished second overall among Intermediate Entry boys with 173 targets, while Adalyn Graap’s 93 placed her fourth among the division’s girls.
Perfect rounds and high marks were a common theme for the Bluejays all season, with shooters up and down the roster consistently landing near the top of the Conference leaderboard. A roster that blends veteran Seniors with rising young talent helped Merrill put together one of its strongest regular seasons in years.
The Bluejays brought their season to a close at the Wisconsin State High School Clay Target League State Tournament, held Friday, June 19, 2026, at the WTA Homegrounds in Nekoosa.
The team thanked its coaches, volunteers, parents, sponsors, and supporters for their role in this season’s success, along with Lincoln Gun Club and the wider Merrill community for their continued partnership in building the program.