Westmoreland clay target shooting clubs prepare for state tournament in Elysburg

Madi Gavrish is in her first year with Penn-Trafford’s target shooting team, but she’s been destroying clay pigeons for the past two years.

“I’ve shot for 4-H since seventh grade,” said Gavrish, who is preparing along with members of her own team and several others in the region for the annual Pennsylvania Sporting Clays State Tournament, set for early June in Elysburg.

“My dad shoots and his dad also shoots,” Gavrish said. “I was just around the sport a lot growing up.”

Penn-Trafford High School shop teacher Eric Crompton started the club in early April, after his son took an interest in shooting.

“We took an NRA safety and shooting class at the West Penn Sportsmen’s Club in Murrysville, and my son just loved it,” Crompton said. “That led me to getting certified through the game commission to be a hunting safety instructor.”

Gavrish will be among three members of the Penn-Trafford club to attend the tournament.

On Wednesday night, more than 40 members of the Norwin High School clay target shooting team were taking part in their final regular-season shoot at the Trafford Sportsmen’s Club. They started their team around 2016, Norwin teacher and club coach David Sandala said.

“Myself and the other coach were already trap shooters, and we thought it would be great if we could get kids interested in the fun of shooting sports,” Sandala said. “At the time, there were only about 20 or so school districts in the league.”

In early June, nearly 50 school district clubs and 700 students will take part in the state tournament. The league is the only school-approved clay target shooting program in the country, and is fully Title IX compliant. Nationwide, more than 1,700 school-sponsored teams take part in the USA Clay Target League.

Participants take turns trying to down 25 clay targets, launched to simulate game birds in flight. They submit scores from five meets during the spring season, and are able to qualify for the state tournament in one of three categories.

“Kids who are breaking 20-25 clays compete for the varsity state championship,” Sandala said. “Then kids doing 15-20 compete at the junior varsity level, and under 15 compete at the novice level. Two of our team members are definitely shooting junior varsity. We have one shooter who may qualify for varsity, but I think if she ends up in the JV category, she could win it.”

Maureen Zang, an NRA-certified shotgun instructor at West Penn Sportsmen’s Club, has been working with several local clubs for the past few years, including Kiski Area’s Kiski Clay Breakers. She’s looking forward to the state competition.

“They seem to group the regions together a bit,” Zang said. “Last year it was really nice because Franklin Regional was just a few fields down from Kiski, and hopefully Penn-Trafford will be near us this year. It’s great to walk the trap line and see all the people we know.”

Gavrish uses a break-action 12-gauge Browning shotgun in competition.

“I’ve used it ever since I started shooting,” she said. “I have a butt pad on mine to help with recoil, and that’s pretty specific to how you set your own gun up.”

Crompton said the league is working to have clay shooting recognized as an official Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association sport, rather than just a club activity.

“I like that some of the kids are getting experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have had,” he said. “We have about nine kids on the team who’d never shot a firearm prior to our safety meeting.”

Sandala said he’s had a similar experience in Norwin.

“My biggest satisfaction is watching the kids grow,” he said. “The first time, they’ll go out and maybe break one or two targets. Then, watching them break a dozen or more at the end of the season is really great to see.”

For more information on the league and the upcoming tournament, see PA.USAclaytarget.com.