2024 Doane Invitational Results (PDF)
LINCOLN, Neb. – The first action for Concordia University Shooting Sports since this past November occurred over the weekend (March 9-10) as the Bulldogs competed alongside athletes from 11 other institutions at the Doane Invitational held at Lincoln Trap & Skeet Club in Lincoln, Neb. From a high overall (HOA) perspective, the Bulldogs placed fifth while knocking out a total of 1,330 targets towards the team leaderboard. Out of the three disciplines, skeet, sporting clays and trap, Concordia did its best work in skeet as it posted the second-best team total in the field.
Head Coach Dylan Owens’ squad competed in seven events during the fall season, which culminated with the Waco Invitational on Nov. 4-5. The Doane Invite provided an opportunity to get back into the swing of things before the 2024 ACUI National Championships.
“We’ve been practicing for about three weeks and the practices have gone really well,” Owens said. “Saturday morning was a little rough. We battled the wind and cold temperatures in the morning, and our sporting performance was a few targets down from where I feel like we should be individually. In the afternoon, skeet went really well. We had two 98s and four 97s, so not bad at all. In trap on Sunday, the weather was great. We just didn’t quite achieve what we were hoping for. We’ve got four days of practice this week to get everyone back to form before nationals next week.”
The 98s in skeet for Concordia were turned in by Ames Andelt and Jack Nelson while Devin Harris, Kaylee Hinton, Claire Kee and Breyer Meeks each busted 97 targets of a possible 100. The team total of 487/500 in skeet placed the Bulldogs behind only Midland in that category. Concordia also shot 403/500 in sporting clays and 461/500 in trap. Six Concordia competitors cracked 80 or more targets in sporting clays: Ciezki (81), Harris (81), Buchannan Tietjen (81), Wayne Moore (80), Mason Ward (80) and Katie Welker (80). In trap, Hinton paced the Bulldogs with a 95. She was followed by Harris (93), Welker (92) and Hayes Andelt (91).
From an HOA individual perspective, Devin Harris topped Concordia by shooting a 271. The team’s top performers also included Wayne Moore (266), Ames Andelt (265), Welker (265), Nelson (263) and Tietjen (263). Ward was close behind with a 262 total. There were 21 Bulldogs who competed at the Doane Invite, which featured targets thrown totals for the entire event of 14,300 in skeet, 16,875 in sporting clays and 14,100 in trap.
Said Owens, “It was a good chance to see where we’re at and to get everyone shooting with their squads. We were trying to get a few extra people qualified for nationals. Jessie (Ciezki) and Hayes (Andelt) both qualified. They’ll be going to nationals – we’ll take 15 to nationals. I’m not upset about that. I think we’ll be prepared to be at our best in San Antonio.”
Owens also expressed gratitude towards the seniors and their parents that have helped support the program. The seniors set to graduate this May will finish their collegiate careers at the 2024 ACUI National Championships. The national event is slated to run March 19-23 in San Antonio, Texas. At the 2023 NCSSAA National Championships held in Las Vegas, Concordia placed third in the Division IV breakdown. Last time in San Antonio (2022), the Bulldogs placed fifth HOA within their division.
2024 Doane Invite Team HOA
Midland – 1,399
Doane – 1,358
Iowa Western CC – 1,348
Fort Hays State – 1,332
Concordia – 1,330
Hastings – 1,322
Missouri Valley – 1,257
Southeastern CC – 1,250
Nebraska – 1,217
Mid-Plains CC – 1,010