Statesmen Open Spring Campaign with Victory
Hazelwood, Ill./Brighton, Ill.–The William Penn shotgun sports team started its spring season exactly the way it closed out the fall with another win as it competed at the Lindenwood Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
The Statesmen, winners of three tournaments in a row, posted a score of 1,430 out of 1,500 total targets. Hillsdale (Mich.) was second at 1,421, while Midland (Neb.) was third at 1,416.
The event began with Skeet and the navy and gold held their own with a third-place score of 488-for-500. The trio of Mathew Brindley (Fr., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology), Noah Seelye (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering), and Raylee Bishop (Fr., Ankeny, Iowa, Engineering) topped their team at 98-for-100, while Hunter Lucas (Jr., Washington, Iowa) and Dominick Ver Meer (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) were both one shot back at 97-for-100.
Saturday concluded with Trap and the Statesmen took the discipline crown at 485-for-500. Dryden DeKoning (Fr., Newton, Iowa, Business Management) was first for WPU at 98-for-100, while Brindley, Ver Meer, and Hunter Block tied for second at 97-for-100.
Seelye wrapped up the Statesmen scoring at 96-for-100.
The Invitational’s third and final discipline was Sporting Clays on Sunday with the Statesmen coming in second overall at 457-for-500. KayLynn Sieber (Fr., Marshall, Minn., Biology) produced her team’s top score at 93-for-100, while Brindley and Seelye were a shot behind at 92-for-100.
Ver Meer and Kade Dunkin (Fr., Hamilton, Iowa) finished 90-for-100 as well.
Brindley’s 287-for-300 performance led him to winning the High Overall Athlete accolade. Seelye was just one hit away from the gold, tying for second at 286-for-300.
“It was good to finally get back on the field to see what we needed to work on, and we have some work to do,” Head Coach Steve Heaton said. “We fell short on a couple disciplines that we are normally very strong at. We will be preparing the next couple weeks to give it our best at ACUI Nationals at the end of March.”
Next Up: William Penn will travel to Cedar Falls Saturday to compete in the Iowa College Shotgun Shooting Conference.
