Trap Shooting is the fastest growing extracurricular activity in the nation. It started in 2007 in Minnesota with 30 athletes and three teams. Final numbers have not been tabulated for 2023, but as of the spring season in 2022, that number had expanded to 43,009 on 1466 teams in 34 states.
Trap Shooting is also the safest high school sport as zero injuries have been reported since its inception in 2007. The Potosi trap team started in 2014 and has continued since then. This year’s team was made up of 29 members, 24 boys and 5 girls. The team is really proud to have a full squad of girls for the first time in several years. Sarah Meyer led the girls with an average of 18 birds, and she’s only in 8th grade. Her future is bright. The 2023 seniors deserve special attention. This year’s seniors included Lucas Kieffer, Vince Whitaker, Liam Allison, Trevin Davis, and Cooper Emler.
This was Trevin’s first season on the trap team. He did very well and ended up with a 20 bird average. Liam’s scores were also greatly improved this year. He averaged 22 birds and in one round got a 24 out of 25. A perfect 25 is hard to get, but Vince Whitaker shot his first perfect round in Week 2. He borrowed Coach McKenzie’s BT99 and that made a huge difference. Lucas Kieffer and Cooper Emler have shot many rounds of 25 throughout their trap shooting careers, but perhaps the most special time was the last round in Week 5 to wrap up their careers.
“One of the deciding factors when I switched schools my junior year was whether or not the school had a trap team. Potosi’s trap team is how I ended up here,” said Lucas. “I’ve enjoyed shooting with our squad, and I think everyone should go out for trap.”
Trap is the only sport Liam chooses to participate in, and he’s been a member of the team since 6th grade. After all these years, he has this to say: “My favorite part of trap is the state competition. There are hundreds of shooters, and it’s fun hanging out with the team and our fans.”
At the time of publication, the final standings of the conference were still undecided. Potosi was trailing Kickapoo by 3 birds at the end of Week 4. There’s a good chance of pulling ahead in Week 5 as Connor Emler, Austin White, Lucas Keiffer, and Cooper Emler all shot perfect rounds, and the rest of the team did well too despite shooting in the rain and wind. The state competition is set for June 10, 2023 in Rome, Wisconsin. Nationals will take place in Mason, Michigan on July 6-8, and Riley Droessler, Roman Friederick, Lucas Kieffer, and Connor and Cooper Emler will qualify and likely shoot as individuals and as a team. Other team members are still waiting on qualification information.