Constantine Trap Team wins conference crown
CONSTANTINE — The Constantine High School trap team accomplished some sharp shooting this year.
The trap team, which competed in the Conference 1 for the Michigan High School Clay Target League, won first place for the conference this past season. The trap team started during the 2018 season.
This year marks the first conference championship for the Falcons. The 2023 Michigan Fall Conference consisted of more than 900 students in 44 high schools. There were six conferences across the state this year.
The sport is co-ed and adaptive to students in grades 6-12 in Michigan. Across the country, the USA High School Clay Target League had nearly 1,500 teams in 34 states, spanning more than 43,000 students. The High School Clay Target program has been noted as one of the fastest-growing extracurricular programs across the country since 2007.
It's also the safest sport in the country with an unmatched zero injuries since its inception in 2001, according to league officials.
Dave Hartman is the head coach. It's his second year coaching the squad, heading up both the fall and spring seasons.
"I am extremely proud of each and every member of this team and what they accomplished this season," Hartman said. "It was very exciting to see the Falcons finish top in our conference."
This year' Falcon team was made up of 10 members. Senior Hunter Ambrosen led the team scoring with a 24 average — this is good — which also ranked first in the conference and eighth-best in the state. Junior Alyssa Young was fourth in the conference for girls. Sophomore Brett Niblock was sixth in the conference while seventh grader Wyatt King finished 14th and junior Dylan Lock was 23rd.
Also on the team are members Gavin Hartman, Aleia Peterson, Nathan Rice, Owen Ransbottom and Pierce Gardner.
“There were several personal best scores this fall, and I am looking forward to seeing what the team will accomplish this spring” Hartman said.
The team gathered at the St. Joseph County Conservation Club on Dec. 10 to celebrate their season. They'll head back out to the range and return to the trap fields in March as the spring season begins. This season usually has more than 80 high schools competing across the state.
Finals for the sport are scheduled for June this year, and the national competition will be in July.
If you're curious about being on a trap team, there may be a way for you to compete. You can contact Coach Hartman at daveopie@hotmail.com.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Constantine Trap Team brings home first place in Conference 1
