(Iowa DNR News) – Athletes from 120 teams across Iowa converged on the Iowa State Trapshooting Homegrounds, north of Cedar Falls, June 3-9 for the 2024 Scholastic Clay Target Program State Trap Shooting Championship. During the event, two young women from Underwood, Lacey Gangwish and Quincy O’Donnell, were named to the Ladies Singles Trap – All State Team. They were also named to the Ladies High-All-Around Trap Team.

More than 3,000 athletes ranging from 4th grade through high school shot nearly 780,000 clay targets for the week. Athletes competed in three different competitions; singles trap, doubles trap, and handicap trap. The Ankeny Centennial Jaguars were the top Varsity squad in Singles and Handicap, while the Pleasant Valley Trap Team were Varsity Squad Champions in Doubles Trap. Individual honors are also awarded by age group for each discipline.

State Trap Shoot

A complete list of the results can be found online at: https://bit.ly/2024TrapResults.

The All-State team for singles trap is determined by the combination of the athlete’s league score and the Championship Event Score.

All-State Teams

Ladies Singles Trap – All State Team

1. Lacey Gangwish, Underwood Youth Trap Team, Captain
2. Quincy O’Donnell, Underwood Youth Trap Team
3. Natalie Gibson, I-35 Roadrunners
4. Evelynn Erhardt, Cedar Valley Shotgunners
5. Abbie Hill, Gilbert Clay Commanders
6. Lexi Henning, Wilton Trap Team

Men’s Singles Trap – All State Team

1. Logan Sease, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports, Captain
2. Matthew Eilers, Pleasant Valley Trap Team
3. Hunter Strong, Davenport Youth Trap
4. Ethan Swehla, New Hampton Youth Trap
5. Kail Schmelzer, Cresco Area Clay Crushers
6. Preston Feuerbach, Xavier High School

The High-All-Around Trap team is determined by the combination of the athlete’s Trap Singles, Doubles, and Handicap Championship Events Scores.

High-All-Around Trap Teams

Ladies Trap High-All-Around

1. Quincy O’Donnell, Underwood Youth Trap Club, Captain
2. Lexi Henning, Wilton Trap Team
3. Lacey Gangwish, Underwood Youth Trap Club
4. Addison McGehearty, Mt. Pleasant Panthers
5. Evelynn Erhardt, Cedar Valley Shotgunners
6. Lily Jennings, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Shooting Sports

Men’s Trap High-All-Around

1. Matthew Eilers, Pleasant Valley Trap Team, Captain
2. Hunter Strong, Davenport Youth Trap
3. Grant Yuska, Pleasant Valley Trap Team
4. Logan Sease, Ankeny Centennial Jaguars
5. Robert Curtis, Pleasant Valley Trap Team
6. Mason Goche, Bettendorf Bulldog Trap Team

The Scholastic Clay Target Program is the largest, fastest growing, and most exciting youth clay target program in the U.S. Student athletes from elementary through high school and college have the opportunity to compete in sports such as trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines like bunker trap and international skeet.

The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) are youth development programs that promote shooting sports and competitive shooting. The program’s goal is to instill personal values and character traits, such as fair play, compassionate understanding, individual responsibility, sportsmanship, self-discipline, and personal commitment in young people.

(Radio Iowa) – The champion of last year’s NASCAR Cup Series will be in Iowa for Sunday’s race at the Iowa Speedway, but also to raise money for the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association on Saturday night. Ryan Blaney (BLAY-nee), who drives the number-12 Mustang, will host “Dinner with the Champions” at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville. Association spokeswoman Lauren Livingston says Blaney is bringing his dad and his uncle, both of whom were top drivers as well.

Established in 2018, the Ryan Blaney Family Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to supporting brain health causes, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease and concussion — so she says donations for the event are tax deductible.

The Blaney Family has many ties to not only dirt racing, but to Knoxville and Iowa. Ryan Blaney’s mother, Lisa, is a Chariton native, and Ryan’s father, Dave, won the Knoxville Nationals in 1997. Ryan’s uncle, Dale, competed in the Knoxville Nationals several times, and his grandfather, Lou, finished 4th in the Knoxville Nationals in 1974. Speaking of Lou, Livingston says the Blaney family has a personal connection to Alzheimer’s.

Those resources include the Alzheimer’s Association’s free 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900. Some seven-million Americans have Alzheimer’s dementia, including more than 62-thousand Iowans, while nearly 100-thousand Iowans provide unpaid care to loved ones living with the disease.

On the web:

Tickets: iowa.cbo.io
Alzheimer’s Association: alz.org