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SPANGLE – Newport High School’s FFA Trapshooting Team took third place in the windy 16-school Freeman Invitations Shoot Saturday, March 7.
Newport had to wait three hours to shoot, as the winds picked up. Freeman, who won the contest, was the first team to shoot.
“It became increasingly challenging to post good scores as the day progressed,” Newport coach David Bradbury says, with the wind gusting harder as the day went on. “By the time Newport stepped up to shoot, the targets were extremely difficult.”
That didn’t take away from Freeman’s accomplishments, he says. Freeman shot a 190 out of 200.
“They were absolutely dialed in,” Bradbury says. “They shot like State Champions!”
Newport hit 172, behind Eastmont, which posted a score of 178.
For Newport, Carson Hirst and Luke Wright were the top shooters on the day, turning in identical 44s out of 50. They both shot 21 at 16-yards, and they both shot 23 in Handicap. Newport’s Landon Hall and Ford Klindt also shot identical 42s, with each hitting 19 at 16-yards and 23 in Handicap.
Freeman’s Drew Greger was the top male shooter, hitting a 49 out of 50. Greger hit a 24 out of 25 at 16 yards and then shot a perfect 25 in Handicap at 22 yards. Freeman’s Rex McGowen finished second with a score of 48. The top female shooter on the day was Freeman’s Maddy Johnson who shot a 47.
There were 35 squads from 16 schools competing, with a total of 160 student athletes. There were also three squads of advisors who competed. Altogether, just under 12,000 targets were thrown.
The FFA trapshooting season is starting to wind down. Newport will travel to Colville on Saturday, March 21. They will travel to Kettle Falls the following Saturday, March 28. Newport will finish the season at the Washington FFA State Shoot on Saturday, April 18.
