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Hunting Hills clay shooters win 40 medals at event

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DILLINER – Thirty-four members of the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes, Greene County’s Scholastic Clay Target Program team, received a total of 40 medals during the Pennsylvania Scholastic Clay Target Program Sporting Clays Championship June 15 at Hunting Hills in Dilliner.

The event involved 232 youth shooters from across the state competing in a 100-target shoot to determine state winners in six skill divisions: rookie, intermediate entry, intermediate advanced, junior varsity, varsity and collegiate. Awards were given to the top three teams in each division, as well as the highest overall male and female individual shooters. A total of 93 Hunting Hills Hawkeyes members participated in the shoot.

Hawkeyes squads took first place in five divisions, a state shoot first. The squads also took one second-place trophy, four third-place trophies, six individual class trophies and two collegiate trophies. Two Hawkeyes also won awards for having the highest overall scores among male and female shooters.

Hawkeyes squads took all eight places in the rookie division, with the squad consisting of Tristan Cole of Waynesburg, Arran Hinerman of Waynesburg and B.Tucker Hughes of Rogersville winning first place with a squad score of 199. Finishing in second place with a score of 160 was the squad of Dalton Stansick of McClellandtown, Zackery Gamble of Waynesburg and Owen Hughes of Rogersville. In third place, Hunter Orrahood, Kolby Smith and Caitlyn Dugan, all of Waynesburg, scored 156. Cole and Hinerman were the top two scorers in the division with individual scores of 77 and 63, respectively.

In the intermediate entry division, six Hawkeyes squads placed. Cameron Cernuska of Jefferson, Landon Ellifritz of Morgantown and Konner Wood of Greensboro won first place with a combined score of 225, and Louis Dobish of Carmichaels, Dylan Henkins of Waynesburg and Noah Haines of Dilliner finished third with a score of 207. Cernuska had the third highest individual score in the division with 76 points.

Five squads placed in the intermediate advanced division, with the squad consisting of Nathan Hinerman of Waynesburg, Branden Sanders of Waynesburg and Patrick Hughes of Rogersville taking first place with a squad score of 235. Luke Pecjak of Dilliner, Zack Abbott of New Freeport and Hunter Scott of Carmichaels finished in third place with a score of 221. Hinerman and Pecjak were the top two scorers in the division with individual scores of 85 and 82, respectively.

In the junior varsity division, Jonathan Cogar of Waynesburg, Lex Uram of McKees Rocks and Ethan Kraus of Prosperity won first place with a combined score of 217. Three other Hawkeyes squads placed in the division, with the squad of Todd Nelson of Mather, Mathew Rush of Jefferson and Camryn Dugan of Waynesburg taking third place and scoring 211.

With a total score of 243, the Hawkeyes squad made up of Parker Woodring of Carmichaels, Jacob Young of Waynesburg and Andrew Buchtan of Greensboro finished first in the varsity division, with five other squads placing. Woodring had the second highest individual score in the division with 87 points. In the collegiate division, Nicholas Clarke of Carmichaels won with an individual score of 90, and Alexander Rush of Jefferson finished second with an individual score of 88. One other Hawkeye competed in the collegiate division.

With his individual score, Clarke won the highest overall male award. Four other Hawkeyes finished in the top 10. Montana Bellis of Dilliner, who competed in the varsity division, won highest overall female with her individual score of 75. Two other Hawkeyes finished in the top 10 for females.

Last year, 47 members of the Hawkeyes competed in the state shoot in Wellsville, with 15 members receiving medals for their performances. Two Hawkeyes squads took first place in their respective divisions, and three female Hawkeyes were recognized for their individual scores.

The Hawkeyes formed in February 2009 as part of a pilot Scholastic Clay Target Program in the county. More than 40 students in grades five through 12 have participated in the program each year.

The team’s home base of Hunting Hills is owned and operated by Sally and Roy Sisler, who first approached the Greene County commissioners in 2008 about starting a Scholastic Clay Target Program. Overseeing this year’s program were head coach Chuck Mallory and assistant head coach Randy Coss, along with several assistant coaches.

Nationally, the programs are sponsored by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. Locally, the Greene County Commissioners and the Department of Recreation sponsor the program. Additional program support was provided by American Legion Filer-Sadlek Post No. 954 and James Farrell Post No. 330, Atlas Energy, Bill Wise Excavation, C&M Waste Water, Cabela’s, Consol Energy, Elite Oil Field Services, Energy Corp. of America, Friends of the National Rifle Association, Hinerman’s NAPA, Hunting Hills, ISM Weapon Systems, National Wild Turkey Federation-Warrior Trail Gobblers Chapter, Ozie’s Sport Shop, Penneco Oil Company, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Waynesburg Sportsman Association and Yost Drilling, LLC. The program’s mission is to promote and teach young people the fundamentals of gun safety, team work and outdoor sports.

For more information on the Hunting Hills Hawkeyes, call the Department of Recreation at 724-852-5323, or visit www.co.greene.pa.us.

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