ST. CHARLES, Mo. – For the first time since October, the Concordia University Shooting Sports team competed in an official event. While in action at the Lindenwood University Invitational over the weekend (Feb. 27-28), the Bulldogs placed third high overall (HOA) amongst the eight teams present at a windy Gateway Gun Club in St. Charles, Mo. Scores were tabulated from three separate shooting disciplines.
Head Coach Scott Moniot’s squad hung with traditional national powers in host Lindenwood (1,228) and Midland (1,220). Concordia cracked 1,218 targets while placing just behind those two rivals. The Bulldogs came away believing they can be better next time out.
“It was a long layoff since the fall,” Moniot said. “We felt really good about getting outside and do some shooting. We didn’t know for sure where we would be at. In all honesty, we are capable of performing better than we did. We weren’t that far off – we were only 10 targets down after three events. We’ve come a long way. We have very high expectations because of the level we’ve been shooting at. I think this will light a fire under us and show we really have to show up and do our jobs to compete with the best teams.”
A strange occurrence on the second day of the shoot prevented the fourth shooting event from being completed, preventing the Bulldogs from having the opportunity to catch Lindenwood or Midland. On the individual leaderboards, Concordia dominated the women’s side with four of the top 10: Erin Lokke (second), Rebecca Tierney (fourth), Sarah Schwacher (fifth) and Emily Rasmussen (ninth). On the men’s side, Wyatt Hambly (sixth) and Colten Uitermarkt (seventh) were the team’s top shooters.
In other noteworthy efforts, freshman Wayne Moore hit 99 out of 100 in trap. Meanwhile, senior Rebecca Tierney ran a perfect 50 out of 50 in doubles skeet as the only female competitor to be perfect in the event.
The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend (March 6-7) at the Doane University Tiger Invitational. The event will take place at Lincoln Trap & Skeet Club in Lincoln, Neb.
Lindenwood Invitational Results
*Three events scored
Team HOA
1. Lindenwood University (1,228)
2. Midland University (1,220)
3. Concordia (1,218)
4. Fort Hays State University (1,209)
5. Iowa Western Community College (1,202)
6. Missouri Valley College
6. Hannibal-LaGrange University
8. Missouri University of Science and Technology
Top HOA Women
1. Katie Peterson, FHSU (243)
2. Erin Lokke, CUNE (242)
3. Ashleigh Painter, Lindenwood (242)
4. Rebecca Tierney, CUNE (240)
5. Sarah Schwacher, CUNE (234)
6. Chrissy Byrd, Lindenwood (234)
7. Jolene Dawson, Lindenwood (234)
8. Heather Gordon, FHSU (232)
9. Emily Rasmussen, CUNE (230)
10. Gigi Mitchell, Lindenwood (230)
Top HOA Men
1. Kaleb Scherer, Midland (246)
2. Michael Blazek, Lindenwood (245)
3. John Deford, IWCC (244)
4. Ryan Loveless, Lindenwood (244)
5. Dalton Wilcox, Midland (244)
6. Wyatt Hambly, CUNE (243)
7. Colten Uitermarkt, CUNE (243)
8. Hank McVeigh, FHSU (243)
9. Weston Zolck, IWCC (243)
10. Ethan Boyer, Lindenwood (242)