Trap shooting has been around for a couple of centuries, but it only recently has emerged as a competitive high school sport; this is just its second year in Montana, and Jefferson High was one of the earliest in the state to approve it as a club activity.
And on June 8, the Panther squad took second place among five schools in the first Montana High School Clay Target League State Shoot, held in Great Falls. Jefferson shot 439 out of 500 clays; Denton High took first, with 448.
“I love seeing them grow, seeing them build their confidence,” said Grace Marie Williams, who started Jefferson’s team last year, building on her experience as coach of the Helena Hot Shots, a youth shotgun club team.
In competitive trap shooting, participants take turns firing at “clay pigeon” discs thrown in one of six paths by a machine. At the club level, athletes take 300 shots each; for the high school competition, they were limited to 100 on the day.
Williams’ daughter, Jaden Pelland, shot 92 clays out of 100 to take the girls’ title. Auston Parmer, a JHS freshman and, like Pelland, a Hot Shots member, scored 95 — including 25 straight — to finish 2nd among the boys. Both Pelland and Parmer were named all-state.
Andrew Mosher, a junior, shot 85, good for 3rd place in the junior varsity division. Freshmen Kale Strozewski and Bronco Taylor shot 87 and 80, respectively, to add to the Panthers’ team score.
Williams hopes to expand the Jefferson team next year, and plans to recruit participants from Boulder, Clancy and Montana City elementary schools. The club is open to 6th through 12th graders.
