Statesmen Open Spring with Bronze at ACUI Central Midwest Conference
Sparta, Ill.–The William Penn shotgun sports team knocked off the winter rust as it competed in the ACUI Spring Central Midwest Conference Championships Friday through Sunday.
WPU placed third out of 17 teams with a score of 2,036-for-2,250. Lindenwood (Mo.) topped the field at 2,135-for-2,250, while Hillsdale (Mich.) claimed the runner-up spot with 2,052 targets.
The navy and gold placed in the top four as a team in all six disciplines with silvers in both Skeet and Super Sporting.
The squad’s second-place effort in Skeet came via a score of 491-for-500, while Lindenwood was first at 494-for-500. Mathew Brindley (Sr., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology) and Nikolle Kussatz (So., Leighton, Iowa, Biology) were part of a three-way tie for first with perfect 100-for-100 scores. Kussatz led all females at the competition.
The trio of Hayden Lund (Fr., Beaverdam, Wis., Sports Management), Dryden DeKoning (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Business Management), and Trenton Giese (Fr., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering) also put up scores for the Statesmen by going 97-for-100.
Tanner Muff (Jr., Lincoln, Neb., Public Accounting) posted a 45-for-50 score to top WPU in Super Sporting. The junior finished in a two-person tie for the crown. Overall, the Statesmen grabbed runner-up status at 210-for-250, while Lindenwood won at 220-for-250.
DeKoning was next at 43-for-50, while Colton Heintz-Kuderer (So., Mabel, Minn., Biology) placed right behind him at 42-for-50.
Taking fifth among all female shooters, Emily Sjoberg (Fr., Citrus Heights, Calif., Undecided) guided a quartet of shooters at 40-for-50. Giese, Cade Bowie (Jr., Benton, Ark., Business Management), and Wyatt Kresser (So., Independence, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) all matched Sjoberg as 40-for-50 scorers.
William Penn walked away from the Trap battle in third place at 486-for-500; Lindenwood had a winning tally of 496-for-500. DeKoning and Giese both managed 98-for-100 efforts, while Heintz-Kuderer and Kresser each had 97-for-100 performances. The team’s depth was most on display in Trap as seven other Statesmen tied for the final scoring mark of 96-for-100.
Third place was also garnered in Doubles Trap at 228-for-250, while Lindenwood’s 241-for-250 headed the group.
The trio of Brindley, Heintz-Kuderer, and Cole Henning (So., Wilton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) all produced scores of 46-for-50, while an additional trio of Muff, Brianna Thompson (Jr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology), and Lane Arrowood (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Biology) each tallied 45 hits out of 50 targets. Thompson ended in a tie for second amongst all female shooters.
Addison McGehearty (Fr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Undecided) did not finish as a scorer for WPU, but joined Thompson near the top of the female standings as her 44-for-50 tied for fourth.
WPU took fourth in Doubles Skeet at 235-for-250, and Lindenwood was again first at 246-for-250. Heintz-Kuderer’s 48-for-50 tally was first for the navy and gold, while Giese, Kresser, and Brindley all ended up at 47-for-50.
DeKoning, Hunter Block (Grad., Eldridge, Iowa, Master’s of Organizational Leadership), and Noah De Boef (Sr., Leighton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) each posted 46-for-50 showings.
The Statesmen unfortunately gave up quite a few shots in Sporting Clays, placing fourth at 386-for-500 (Lindenwood was at 438-for-500). The duo of Heintz-Kuderer and Kresser had the best scores at 79-for-100, while Connor Gittings (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) got on the board at 77-for-100.
Giese, at 76-for-100, and DeKoning, at 75-for-100, scored for the Statesmen as well.
Heintz-Kuderer’s final weekend score of 406-for-450 helped him to an 11th-place overall finish in the High Overall Athlete standings. Sjoberg managed to place sixth in the female HOA standings at 375-for-450.
The team faced adversity this weekend, but this competition allowed the athletes to reflect on areas to work on moving forward,” Head Coach Colten Uitermarkt said. “I am confident that the team will work diligently to make the necessary improvements as we prepare for ACUI Nationals.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Waukee Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Simpson Shootout.
