CU makes mark in shooting sports

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This fall has left no doubt that the arrow is pointing upward for the Concordia University shooting sports program. For the third time this season, the Bulldogs claimed an event title. They knocked out 1,983 targets Oct. 10-11 while beating out a field of six teams at the Hastings Bronco Invitational. The event was staged at Heartland Shooting Park in Grand Island.

Head Coach Scott Moniot’s squad also earned first-place finishes at the Midland Ice out Invitational (Sept. 19-20) and the Prairie Circuit Classic Fall Championship (Sept. 25-26). The Bronco Invite put a bow on the fall competitive season for Concordia. This was it for a select group of seniors who will not return for the second semester.

“It was a bittersweet weekend,” Moniot said. “This was the last shoot for a couple of our seniors who are graduating in December. I think the emotions kind of hit us while we were there. There were a lot of good times, we had a lot of smiles and there were some tears shed by some of the kids, parents and teammates. We went out (this fall) on top, which is always fun. We had to be on our game.”

The Bronco Invite awarded recognition to the high overall (HOA) male and female of the event. The Bulldogs swept those honors thanks to juniors Colten Uitermarkt (404) and Sarah Schwacher (372). They played a big role in Concordia beating out their competitors in the form of Iowa Western Community College (second), Doane (third), Hastings (fourth), Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (fifth) and Wichita State University (Kan.).

Uitermarkt was also the champion of the Concordia Bulldog Sporting Invitational a week earlier. Uitermarkt paced Concordia in the events of skeet (98), skeet doubles (90) and sporting clays (75) on his way to a total of 404. Four other Bulldogs also shot a 98 in skeet: sophomore Blake Greckel, senior Mack Origer, Schwacher and junior Damien Stewart. Concordia leaders in the other disciplines were senior Monica Dale and junior Russell Malterud (96 apiece) in trap and Greckel and Origer in super sporting (48 apiece).

The Bulldog top five in terms of HOA were Uitermarkt (404), junior Wyatt Hambly (392), Malterud (387), Stewart (375) and Schwacher (372). Senior Rebecca Tierney (365) placed second HOA among females, behind only Schwacher.

From a team perspective, the Bulldogs outshot the opposition in each category other than skeet doubles (defeated 435-428 by Iowa Western). The team totals in each of the additional disciplines were: 475 in trap, 490 in skeet, 355 in sporting clays and 235 in super sporting.

The momentum continues to build for Concordia shooting sports as it ends the fall season. The Bulldogs will soon have an on-campus training room to go along with their home range of Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard. The idea is for Concordia to reach its peak at the ACUI National Championships in the spring.

“We started off a couple years and switched from a club into the athletic program. We’ve made strides every year. The kids are growing and getting better. Their attitudes this year have been fantastic," Moniot said. "I think they realized that they were fortunate for Concordia to make a commitment to put a full season in with all the unknowns. We shot just as many competitive targets this fall as we ever have. I think our kids are pleased to be on this team, and they’re going to continue to work hard … now the focus is on getting ready for nationals in the spring.”

The next event on the schedule is the University of Missouri Tundra Shootout slated for Feb. 20-21, 2021, in Columbia, Missouri. The Tundra Shootout will be one of two spring semester events prior to the national championships in San Antonio, Texas.