Baker High School trapshooting team places 4th at state

Ian Crawford, Baker City Herald, Ore.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—Baker High School's trapshooting team placed fourth in the Oregon State Clay Target League state tournament June 25-26 in Hillsboro.

The Bulldogs knocked 455 targets out of the sky, only five targets behind a tied second and third place, Oregon City and Newberg, with 460 respectively, and only eight behind first place Canby High with 463. The team totals are determined by the top five competitors for each team, which made the results extremely close by the end of the event.

The performance at the state tournament concludes months of training under coach Zack Kimball at the Baker Trap Club just north of town.

"I am extremely proud of them all," Kimball said. "A lot of the kids shot personal bests and overall had a good time. We are all looking forward to working hard next year to make sure we bring home the No. 1 team trophy."

Twenty-one of the 23 Baker team members who qualified for state competed in Hillsboro. Kimball said Skye Smith and Anthony Betts were unable to attend.

Bulldogs competed in novice, junior varsity and varsity categories.

Boys varsity

(Scores are out of 100 total targets)

—Jimmy Sullivan Jr., tied 4th, 96.

—Gage Hatfield, tied 7th, 93.

—Conner Norton and Seth Holden, tied 16th, 90.

—Alex Wise, tied 34th, 86.

—Ryan Brown, Jaxon Ford, Jack Heriza, tied 57th, 84.

—Ethan Morgan and Samual Nelson, tied 77th, 81.

—Alexander Jaca, tied 82nd, 80.

—Joseph Zikmund, tied 90th, 77.

—Chris Schuh, 96th, 74.

—Matt Rabourne, 97th, 73.

Boys junior varsity

—Connor Martin, tied 5th, 86.

—Remington Benson, tied 9th, 85.

—Jose Armenta, tied 13th, 84.

—Ryan Hansen, tied 22nd, 81.

—Ethan Whiting, tied 30th, 77.

Boys novice

—Charlie Boulter, 4th, 81.

Girls junior varsity

—Riley Hurliman, tied 4th, 71.

Kimball expressed gratitude for his crew and faculty support.

"I want to thank everyone that has supported us from day one," he said. "All coaches — Wayne Paxton, Chad Hurliman, Bob Whitnah and David Blair really stepped up this year."

Kimball said Baker, La Grande and Wallowa trap clubs are planning a winter league to start in early 2023.

"It is separate from the USA Clay Target League and is a great warmup for the season," he said.