LAS VEGAS, NV — Competing under a new governing body, the results remained the same for the William Penn shotgun sports team as it again brought home the top prize after winning the Division IV (NAIA) crown at the NCSSAA National Championships last Monday through Saturday.
WPU won the national title by placing first out of 11 competing teams with a score of 1,423 (1,500 targets total). Midland (Neb.) and Concordia (Neb.) tied for second at 1,405; Midland won the shoot-off to claim national runner-up honors.
The title is the first for the Statesmen as members of the National Collegiate Shooting Sports Athletic Association. Last year, William Penn won the Division IV title as part of ACUI.
The team score was determined by combining the total score of the top five individuals over the disciplines of Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays (300 total shots per individual).
Mathew Brindley (So., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and Colten Uitermarkt (Grad., Otley, Iowa, Master’s of Organizational Leadership) both hit 288 of their 300 targets to tie for second overall. Uitermarkt won the shoot-off to claim sole possession of second.
Russell Malterud (Grad., North Branch, Minn., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) placed fifth overall at 284.
KayLynn Sieber (So., Marshall, Minn., Biology) claimed the women’s national title as the High Overall Female Athlete at 282.
Dominick Ver Meer (Jr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) completed WPU’s scoring at 281.
Raylee Bishop (So., Ankeny, Iowa, Civil Engineering) earned national runner-up laurels on the women’s side at 278, while Holly Boeke (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) tied for third at 277. Boeke lost the shoot-off for third, taking fourth overall.
Ashley Hunter (So., Indianola, Iowa, Biology) was seventh in the female overall standings at 263.
For his efforts, Head Coach Steve Heaton was named Division IV Coach of the Year.
The Statesmen were able to come away with the biggest trophy via first or second-place finishes in each of the three disciplines.
The navy and gold had their biggest advantage in Sporting Clays, taking the win at 451 (out of 500), while Concordia nabbed the silver at 444.
Uitermarkt was second overall at 93, while Brindley was third at 92. Malterud (90), Bryon Baca (Grad., Colorado Springs, Colo., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) (88), and Kade Dunkin (So., Hamilton, Iowa, Biology) (88) rounded out the squad’s scoring.
Sieber’s 87 tied her for first in the women’s standings; she then won the shoot-off to claim the national crown. Boeke was third at 86 and Bishop was fifth at 85.
William Penn also claimed the Trap crown, finishing 496 (out of 500) and winning a shoot-off with Concordia. Dryden DeKoning (So., Newton, Iowa, Business Management) was one of three individuals to hit all 100 of his targets. The sophomore placed second in the shoot-off.
The quintet of Malterud, Lane Arrowood (So., Newton, Iowa, Biology), Noah DeBoef (So., Leighton, Iowa, Industrial Technology), Bishop, and Caytlin Pendleton (So., West Jordan, Utah, Communications) all tied at 99. Bishop and Pendleton tied for first on the women’s side with Bishop taking the national title in the four-person shoot-off, while Pendleton was third.
WPU was unfortunately denied the clean sweep of team hardware, finishing one shot back in the Skeet competition at 490 (out of 500). Midland (491) won the event.
Ver Meer tied for the top spot in the overall standings with a perfect 100 out of 100; the junior lost the shoot-off to take second. Brindley and Uitermarkt were next on the navy and gold’s list at 98, while Boeke and Sieber each posted scores of 97 to tie for third amongst the female shooters. Neither won the shoot-off and placed just outside the top three.
Teams also battled in three additional disciplines that were not part of their total scores, but were scored in the Federal Cup competition. The Federal Cup included scores from all six divisions and featured teams from every division in the standings.
William Penn placed third in the Federal Cup.
The Statesmen won the Doubles Skeet title, while tying for second in Doubles Trap and taking third in Super Sporting.
The Statesmen posted a winning score of 476 (out of 500) in Doubles Skeet with Uitermarkt at the top of the entire standings to claim the national crown with a 98. WPU took the top three places with Ver Meer at 97 and Brindley at 96. Sieber won runner-up honors for the women at 93, while Noah Seelye (So., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) completed the team scoring at 92.
A score of 472 (out of 500) secured the silver in Doubles Trap with Brindley finishing third overall at 96. Hunter Block (Jr., Eldridge, Iowa, Business Management) (95), Adison Sholes (Fr., Indianola, Iowa, Business Management (94), and Ver Meer (93) also scored.
Bishop’s 94 not only figured into her crew’s score, but also paced all of the female competitors for the national title.
With a score of 414 (out of 500), the Statesmen earned the bronze in Super Sporting. Uitermarkt placed third at 87, while Malterud had a tally of 85. Cade Bowie (Fr., Benton, Ark., Business Management) and Hunter Stenoien-Bowen (Fr., Avoca, Iowa, Engineering Technology) each hit 81 targets, while Christopher Berkshire-Lewis (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Business Management) recorded an 80.
Boeke and Sieber tied for top marks in the female standings at 79 apiece with Boeke winning the shoot-off to take the title. Sieber finished third in the shoot-off.
“I want to give a special thank you to seniors Jarrett DeKoning, Dominick Ver Meer, and Chris Berkshire-Lewis for their help in putting this team on the map,” Head Coach Steve Heaton said. “There are no words for what our athletes accomplished this year. They busted their backsides all year and were not settling for a tie like last season.”
