Kresser Win HOA Award as Statesmen Start Year with Bronze at Fort Hays State Shoot
Fort Hays, Kan.–Wyatt Kresser (Sr., Independence, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) was excellent across the board Saturday and Sunday as the William Penn shotgun sports team opened its 2026-2027 campaign at the Fort Hays State Invitational.
As a team, WPU was third out of 11 teams with a score of 2,073-for-2,250, while host Fort Hays State won the title at 2,098. Iowa Western CC took runner-up honors at 2,081.
The scoring was different than most tournaments as the top five High Overall Athlete scores for each team made up their final tally. Had the traditional scoring format been used, the navy and gold would have been second (2,124) with FHSU still winning (2,146).
Kresser, who took the HOA crown by two shots, finished at 424-for-450. The senior scored for WPU in all five disciplines that were shot over the weekend.
Trenton Giese (Jr., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering) was also on the ‘podium’, tying for second at 422-for-450.
Emily Sjoberg (Jr., Citrus Heights, Calif., Undecided) made it a sweep for the Statesmen as she won the Female HOA title at 415-for-450, while the trio of Ian Darragh (So., Eagle, Idaho, Business Management), Jakob Moesgaard (Fr., Burlington, Wis.), and Collin Whitehead (Fr., Puryear, Tenn.) all tied at 406-for-450.
Behind a perfect 100-for-100 effort from Morgan Hodge (Sr., West Liberty, Iowa, Nursing), William Penn topped Trap at 493-for-500. Her score tied for first overall and was good for gold in the ladies division.
Cooper Burr (Fr., Fox Lake, Ill.) was next at 99-for-100, while the quartet of Kresser, Brianna Thompson (Sr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology), John Duld (Fr., Shawnee, Kan.), and Rusin Ivanoff-Ladd (Fr., Smackover, Ark.) also put scores on the board at 98-for-100.
The crew’s next-best scoring came in Doubles Trap at 473-for-500.
Cole Henning (Sr., Wilton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and Izaac Zihlman (So., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Business Management) both tied for first at 96-for-100, but lost in a shoot-off.
Kresser’s 95-for-100 was next, while Hodge and Addison McGehearty (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Undecided) helped at 93-for-100. McGehearty won the shoot-off against Hodge for the ladies’ title.
A 468-for-500 score was posted in Sporting Clays with Sjoberg topping the entire field at 98-for-100. Trenton Giese (95), Kresser (93), Darragh (91), and Brianna Giese (So., Muskego, Wis., Nursing) (91) assisted in the team score as well.
Sjoberg also worked herself to the pinnacle of the Statesmen grouping in Super Sporting at 92-for-100, while WPU managed a score of 456-for-500.
Trenton Giese and Kresser, each at 91-for-100, and Darragh, at 90-for-100, were joined by the trio of Whitehead, Zihlman, and Dylan Uitermarkt (Sr., Pella, Iowa) (each at 86-for-100) on the WPU scorecard.
A total of 250 targets were available in Doubles Skeet with William Penn connecting on 234. Trenton Giese’s 48-for-50 posting was the best for his team, while Kresser and Moesgaard were both at 47-for-50.
Uitermarkt, Miranda Bernau (So., Waterford, Wis., Biology), and Colton Heintz-Kuderer (Sr., Mabel, Minn., Biology) also hit 46 of their clays.
“This weekend was a test for us as a team to gauge our strengths and weaknesses,” Head Coach Colten Uitermarkt said. “We battled triple-digit temps and driving winds. I was extremely impressed with how the team performed with just three practices before our first tournament. Our freshmen stepped up to the plate, our sophomores took a huge leap forward in their development, our juniors continued where they left off last year, and our seniors set the stage in both scores, but more importantly as leaders.”
“As a coach, I am excited to get back to practice and work on things for the next couple weeks in greater detail,” Uitermarkt added. “The outcome was not what we wanted, but I saw way more positives than negatives this weekend.”
Next Up: William Penn takes a week off before hosting the William Penn Invitational in Pella on September 12-13.
