Trap shooting is a sport in which you shoot a flying target out of the sky. It takes skill, accuracy, and determination. A shooter starts on one of five stands and attempts to shoot five individual targets that are thrown from the trap house, which is sixteen yards from the shooter, before proceeding to the next stand. In total, the shooter attempts 25 shots, and however many targets they break is their score out of 25. In high school trap in Wisconsin, there is a spring league, fall league, and state shoot, as well as a few other events like the annual High School Invitational Trapshoot, hosted by Southwest Technical College. You can also be invited to Nationals depending on how well you do. The best shooter in a season is determined by all their scores added up from every round and divided by the rounds shot; this score is their overall average.
Karlie Klas started her Trap shooting Career in 2016 when she was a junior in high school, and a friend who was already shooting for the high school trap team told Karlie she should shoot in the fall league. It started rough but she kept improving. “It was pretty addicting,” she said. The next spring she was shooting great and she won High Lady at the Wisconsin state shoot. In the fall league of her senior year, she set the lady’s high average record with a 24.3, and that record still stands today.
After high school, Karlie wanted to further her trap shooting with the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA). She claimed she wanted to shoot more than 14 boxes of shells a season. She shot at the Potosi and Cassville trap clubs and picked up shooting handicapped and doubles. She did very well in this and even shot for the Wisconsin women's trap team at the Grand American Trap Shoot in Sparta, Illinois. She also mentioned her 2018 Wisconsin state shoot, where she won nine trophies in ten events.
Klas took over as the agriculture teacher at Platteville High School starting in 2023. She had previously been the agriculture teacher in Prairie du Chein, but had already been coaching Platteville’s trap team since 2020. Platteville High School never had a trap team before, so she volunteered to create a team and coach them. “I saw a place I could make a difference,” she stated. “I’ve met quite the [group of] kids,” She stated. “ It is just really rewarding to see kids at the beginning shoot a 2, 3, or 4, and then watch them shoot their first 25”, she said. Now she is coaching in the spring and fall every year and still shooting singles, doubles, and handicapped through the ATA.