Moffat County archery, rifle shooters eyeing state contest

All it takes is a few holes through a target to earn a trip to the big time. However, getting those marks is easier said than done.

Moffat County 4-H shooting sports named its state teams in archery and .22 rifle Saturday following completion shoot events at the Wyman Living History Museum archery pitch and the Bears Ears Sportsman Club gun range.

Teams take the top four highest-scoring shooters, as well as two alternates, to the Colorado State Fair in August in Pueblo.

In the bow and arrow brigade known as the Sliver Slingers, Nick Pugh and Jordan Kainz took home top honors in the limited and unlimited categories of the senior compound bow events, respectively.

Christa Bird will attend state in the senior division for the recurve bow, while Brandon Madsen will do the same for the juniors.

Within the junior compound, Jerzey Landa won first in the unlimited and Tiffany Hill in the limited. Tiffany, 13, who attended state last year, was a little nervous about her chances this time, though it wasn’t evident in her technique that won her the day.

“I shot OK, but I had a little mess-up on a couple of them,” she said, as she and her friends sat back to watch the seniors draw back their arrows near the end of the day.

Tiffany has been practicing the sport for two years, while teammate Winter Rogers, also 13, has been at it twice as long, though shooting for a crowd is still something she finds challenging.

“I don’t like people watching me,” Rogers laughed.

Nevertheless, she placed fourth in the compound unlimited to make the state team.

Across town, Tiffany’s older sister, Angela, was busy squeezing the trigger in the senior bracket of the rifle competition for the first time.

“You have to take it a lot more serious,” Angela said of the age transition.

She hit the mark by qualifying to represent Moffat County in all four parts of the day — three-position, four-position, hunt and scope — though it was seasoned shooter Dylan Villa who swept the seniors. A longtime participant in 4-H shooting who claimed the blue ribbon at state last year and recently returned from nationals, Villa is looking forward to competing one last time next month.

“I’m kind of relieved, but I’m going to miss it because it’s been such a big part of my life for eight years,” he said, noting he’s used the same Savage target rifle that entire time.

Villa also made the archery team for unlimited compound as an alternate.

Gabrielle Ellis led all four rifle categories among the juniors, while novice shooter Donovan Converse was quite pleased with making the top four in the 4-P and being an alternate in the 3-P and scope all in his first year.

Making the time to practice is a job all in itself, the 13-year-old said, but another element of the sport is still tricky.

“Holding steady, when you’re up there for a while with the gun, it gets heavy,” Converse said. “With shotgun, you shoot and then you get a break, but in .22, you just keep shooting.”

Completion shoots for air rifle and other firearms will be held in the following week, including the Saturday shotgun event at Craig Trap Club. Shooting coach Alvin Luker said he couldn’t be prouder of the progress kids — some brand-new to the program — have made, all gaining more and more confidence with their equipment in recent months.

“You should see their scores improve throughout the season,” he said. “It’s incremental to them, but it’s a big difference.”

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com or follow him on Twitter @CDP_Sports.