Shooting up to the top
Photo submitted by: Mike Kingland
Owatonna’s clay target team photo for the season of 2023.
April 26, 2023
As the spring season approaches, the OHS Clay Target team begins to work hard. The team has 108 athletes, making it the largest team in the state this season. There are 80 boys and 28 girls. This is the most girls in Owatonna team history as well. The team has gotten a lot of new members this year with 36 of the 108 students being brand new to the team. There are 26 assistant coaches that help manage the large team. Owatonna’s Clay Target team is led by four senior captains, Teagun Ahrens, Anna Fox, Taylor Busho and Dawson Risser.
Having a form of leadership is important for high school sports, especially with a team this big. Owatonna’s Trap team had 10 seniors graduate last year, giving the younger athletes a chance to move up this year. Senior captain Anna Fox said, “This season I am looking forward to getting to know all the new athletes that joined the team and seeing everyone improve. My goals for this season is to get a 25, I have been close the last couple years so I’m hoping I will finally get it this year.”
The team compared to last year is a lot bigger with a bunch of athletes that are new to the sport. We have some very good returners, but with so much new talent, it is going to be fun to see how quickly they improve and start scoring varsity points for us. — Mike Kingland
Senior captain Taylor Busho is the only one among her peers that plans to further her career in trap shooting at Upper Iowa University. Busho said, “I am excited to continue my career with trap shooting in college because it allows me to compete at the collegiate level and it gives me the opportunity to grow and improve.” Busho led the team with a pair of 24s for a 48/50 at the first competition on Monday, April. 17.
The team has some high expectations and things to be looking forward to for the rest of the season. Coach Mike Kingland said, “We are looking forward to hopefully winning our first conference title. I expect Taylor to lead us and to make the All-State Team. We have several athletes who have shown they can shoot some high scores, but they now need to put it together and be consistent week after week. If that happens, good things will follow.”
The team’s next competition is Monday, May. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Owatonna Gun Club.
