William Penn Wins ACUI Division 4 National Title

Kerrville and San Antonio, Texas–In just its second year of existence, the Statesmen shotgun sports team brought home a national title as it claimed the ACUI Division 4 crown last week.

The Statesmen were named the Division 4 four-year college national champions by hitting 2,708 of their 3,000 total targets. Iowa Western CC claimed the Division 4 two-year college crown.

It is William Penn’s first team national title since the women’s basketball team won the 1981 AIAW championship and the second team crown in school history.

Competing at ACUI Collegiate Clay Target National Championships for the first time, WPU was forced to compete in Division 4, one of the four divisions of competition at the championship. Depending on the size of the team (William Penn brought 20 total student-athletes), teams can choose to compete in Division 1, 2, or 3, while Division 4 is for first-year competitors as well as junior college teams.

The 3,000 combined targets included the six disciplines of America Skeet, American Trap, Super Sporting, Sporting Clays, Doubles American Skeet, and Doubles American Trap.

The Statesmen won Division 4 discipline titles in American Skeet, Super Sporting, American Doubles Skeet, while placing in the top five in the other three competitions.

Of even higher significance is that William Penn placed second in American Skeet among 95 total teams in the overall Open division. With a score of 495-for-500, WPU was just three shots behind champion Texas A&M, the Division I overall champion.

The quintet of Mathew Brindley (Fr., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology), Hunter Block (Jr., Eldridge, Iowa), Hunter Lucas (Jr., Washington, Iowa), Dominick Ver Meer (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering), and Ashley Hunter (Fr., Indianola, Iowa) each finished 99-for-100. For Lucas and Hunter, their scores are personal bests in the discipline.

Hunter also finished third among all female shooters in American Skeet.

Division 4 gold also came in Super Sporting as the Statesmen were 438-for-500 with Bryon Baca (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) leading the way at 93-for-100.

Christopher Berkshire-Lewis (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Business Management) and Dryden DeKoning (Fr., Newton, Iowa, Business Management) were next at 87-for-100, while Ver Meer was at 86-for-100. Raylee Bishop (Fr., Ankeny, Iowa, Engineering) rounded out the team scoring at 85-for-100.

The squad’s final Division 4 discipline title came in Doubles American Skeet with a score of 480-for-500. Brindley took fourth among all men’s shooters at 98-for-100.

Matching Brindley’s score of 98 was Ver Meer, while Noah Seelye (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) was at 96-for-100. Berkshire-Lewis and Gideon Boender (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology) both posted scores of 94-for-100.

Bishop guided WPU’s female competitors at 93-for-100.

Division 4 silver was claimed in Sporting Clays (386-for-500) as Ver Meer guided his crew at 81-for-100. Seelye was 80-for-100, while Berkshire-Lewis managed a score of 78-for-100. Baca (74-for-100) and Brindley (73-for-100) also scored for William Penn. Bishop had the WPU women’s top score at 67-for-100.

Part of shooting, especially at a multiple-day nationals event, is the luck of the draw in what weather you will face any given day. Unfortunately, the Statesmen were beat by Mother Nature on the day they competed in American Trap and Doubles American Trap as an intense wind, topping 50 miles per hour, wreaked havoc on the shooters.

WPU placed third in Division 4 in Doubles American Trap at 440-for-500 and fifth in the division in American Trap at 469-for-500. Had the weather been less severe, the expectation is the Statesmen would have hit considerably more targets in the more traditional formats.

Seelye guided his team in Doubles at 91-for-100, while Ver Meer and Baca both went 89-for-100. Bishop also placed at 86-for-100, while DeKoning and Berkshire-Lewis wrapped up the scoring at 85-for-100.

Brindley’s 95-for-100 was the best in Trap, while Lucas and Berkshire-Lewis were one shot back at 94-for-100. Seelye and KayLynn Sieber (Fr., Marshall, Minn., Biology) tallied finishes of 93-for-100.

In the individual High Overall scoring, Bishop placed 20th in the women’s standings at 511-for-600, while Ver Meer was 47th among men at 545-for-600.

Prior to the American disciplines which determined team standings, programs also had the opportunity to compete in International Skeet and International Bunker Trap. Both events were held in the Open division with the Statesmen taking second in Skeet and fifth in Bunker Trap.

Headlining the 243-for-300 showing in Skeet was Brindley who placed third among the men at 90-for-100. Ver Meer (81-for-100) and Berkshire-Lewis (72-for-100) also scored for the navy and gold. The Statesmen were two behind champion Concordia (Neb.).

William Penn posted a score of 226-for-300 in Bunker Trap with Bishop’s 76-for-100 being the best for WPU and the third-best among female competitors. Berkshire-Lewis and Noah DeBoef (Fr., Leighton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) both ended up at 75-for-100 to complete their team’s score.

“The only reason we prevailed at nationals was teamwork,” Head Coach Steve Heaton said. “I have never seen a team help each other, push each other to do their best, like I saw down there. Leadership is not about being the best, it is about making everyone else around you better. My team captains proved this over and over last week.”

“I am so proud of everyone on this team for the desire to win as a team and not an individual; that is what makes true champions,” Heaton added. “If we continue that drive next season–watch out!”