RESULTS: Concordia Individuals | Full Results (ACUI Website)
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A group of 15 Bulldogs represented Concordia University Shooting Sports at the 2024 ACUI National Championships held at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas, March 19-23. Out of 15 teams in the Division 2 breakdown of the national event, the Bulldogs placed seventh HOA (high overall) with a team total of 2,784 targets busted (out of 3,000). Out of all 57 teams across the four divisions of the competition, Concordia finished 15th.
Individual honors were captured by senior Jessie Ciezki, the women’s open skeet national champion, and senior Claire Kee, the women’s open super sporting national titlist. From an HOA perspective, the Bulldogs’ top competitor was senior Breyer Meeks, who cracked 551 of 600 targets.
This was a capper to the 2023-24 season for the majority of Head Coach Dylan Owens’ athletes. Concordia placed third at the 2023 NCSSAA National Championships in Las Vegas. The collegiate shooting world shifted back to San Antonio this spring.
“I knew it was going to be tough, Owens said. “Division 2 is massive with great competition. We started off with practice on Monday (March 18) and it ran really well and then came in Tuesday at 8 a.m. with sporting clays. We didn’t get off to the start we wanted. Sporting clays held us back from being higher in the HOA. We kind of settled in. Jessie winning first and skeet and second in doubles skeet was a major highlight. She’s been practicing really hard. She had a great event all the way around. Claire came in and shot lights out in super sporting. She put in the work and she deserves that.”
The Waterford, Wis., native Ciezki shot 98/100 in super sporting, positioning herself in a three-way tie for first. Ciezki then won the shoot-off while claiming the national title. Ciezki also shot a 95 in doubles keet and placed as the women’s open national runner up. Meanwhile, the Gibbon, Neb., native Kee hit 96 targets in super sporting and took home the women’s open national championship in another thrilling performance.
The teams were classified into divisions based upon how many national qualifiers they brought to San Antonio. The Division 2 grouping featured teams with 11 to 20 athletes in the field. There was no distinction between NAIA or NCAA Division I institutions, for example. Team placements for Concordia in each of the six disciplines are listed below.
Team national placements by discipline (Division 2):
· Super Sporting – 5th (472)
· Doubles Skeet – 6th (475)
· Doubles Trap – 6th (460)
· Skeet – 8th (486)
· Trap – 10th (483)
· Sporting Clays – 14th (408)
While Meeks paced the team from an HOA perspective, he was followed in the Bulldogs’ overall top five by Sam Blevins (550), Jack Nelson (543), Mason Ward (542) and Ciezki (536). By category, Concordia’s top performers were Devin Harris in doubles skeet (98), Ward in doubles trap (95), Ciezki, Nelson and Blevins in skeet (98), Blevins in trap (98), Meeks in sporting clays (84) and Kee, Meeks and Nelson in super sporting (96). The team’s top five in all disciplines are included at bottom.
The overall results were solid from Owens’ perspective. Said Owens, “Tons of people contributed in putting up good scores. It wasn’t just one or two people. From my perspective, we had four really, really good (HOA) scores. Any number of variables could have changed things a lot. I’m really thankful for our group of seniors. They’ve put in the work. We’re excited for the future and the people we have coming in. We’re looking forward to our international shoot in a couple weeks. That’s something fun for our athletes who are pursuing that.”
Select Bulldogs will compete in the upcoming Concordia Bulldog International Tournament set for April 13-14 in Grand Island, Neb. That event will represent the 10th and final outing of the 2023-24 collegiate season.
CONCORDIA TOP SCORES – 2024 ACUI National Championships
HOA
1. Breyer Meeks – 551
2. Sam Blevins - 550
3. Jack Nelson – 543
4. Mason Ward – 542
5. Jessie Ciezki – 536
American Doubles Skeet
1. Devin Harris – 98
2. Jessie Ciezki – 95
3. Jack Nelson – 94
3. Sam Blevins – 94
3. Brennen Stones – 94
American Doubles Trap
1. Mason Ward – 95
2. Jack Nelson – 93
3. Breyer Meeks – 92
3. Brayden Tosh – 92
5. Sam Blevins – 88
American Skeet
1. Jessie Ciezki – 98
1. Jack Nelson – 98
1. Sam Blevins – 98
4. Breyer Meeks – 96
4. Brayden Tosh – 96
4. Buchannan Tietjen – 96
4. Kaylee Hinton – 96
American Trap
1. Sam Blevins – 98
2. Brennen Stones – 97
3. Buchannan Tietjen – 96
3. Brayden Tosh – 96
3. Kaylee Hinton – 96
3. Mason Ward – 96
3. Jessie Ciezki – 96
Sporting Clays
1. Breyer Meeks – 84
2. Jessie Ciezki – 82
3. Sam Blevins – 81
3. Katie Welker – 81
5. Ames Andelt – 80
Super Sporting
1. Jack Nelson – 96
1. Breyer Meeks – 96
1. Claire Kee – 96
4. Brennen Stones – 92
4. Ames Andelt – 92