Moffat County shooters state their business

Moffat County youth were on target the last couple weeks.

The 4-H state shooting sports events saw great results for local kids as rifle, pistol and archery teams went to Pueblo and shotgun and muzzleloader shooters went to Colorado Springs with big goals in their sights.

With limited numbers, the junior shotgun group held their own over Labor Day weekend, as Trevor Hume, Laadan Rothermund, Logan Blackwell and Torin Gray had their best team results in the trap shoot — other events including sporting clays and skeet — at sixth place, in which Trevor Hume placed seventh individually.

Shotgun seniors also fared best in trap, Bryce Tuttle ninth individually, while he, Carlin King, Toryn Hume, Lane White, Brayden Tuttle and Jesse Earle also were the No. 9 team.

“They all shot to the best of their abilities, and everything turned out pretty good,” said coach Wade Gerber.

Moffat County muzzleloaders were small in number, but strong in performance — Logan Knez was 14th among seniors, while Mackenzie Schneider-Ott took fourth for juniors, both in the open class.

The weeks before saw the rifle groups excel, as junior teams won three of the four categories in the .22 event: hunting, hunt scope and four-position, while 3-P was a third-place finish. Each lineup was a little different, with Joey Gates, Gabrielle Ellis, Logan Blackwell, Blake Hill, Emma Knez, Forrest Siminoe, Chloe Villard, Tayla Siminoe and Elias Browning making up the entirety.

“The junior team did very well, a very young team, several of them worked all winter and it definitely came out in the state shoot,” said coach Jody Lee.

Eli Ellis, Angela Hill, Donovan Converse, Kelton Villard and Lane White made up the senior team, claiming their best detail in 3-P in third as a group, while Angela Hill was second in scope and Eli Ellis second in hunting.

“They all shot very well,” Lee said.

Eli qualified for the national round in hunting, and Angela got the nod for the next level for her performance in air rifle. Among juniors in air rifle, Forrest Siminoe was 10th in 3-P and Mackenzie Schneider-Ott 18th in 4-P.

In junior air pistol, Tayla Siminoe was sixth, Joseph Winters 15th and Schneider-Ott 32nd.

The Moffat County archery teams likewise hit their mark, with the senior compound limited team — seniors made of Nick Pugh, Kyla Pogline, Steven Walls, Ben Pugh, Brenna Knez and Hunter Nitzel — and junior compound unlimited — Kimber Wheeler, Tahoe Chenoweth, Kelsey McDiffett, Tiffany Hill, Winter Rogers and Faith Berkey — both placing first among teams, with Nick Pugh and Kimber Wheeler each winning overall.

In total points, Nick just missed qualifying for the next, but in the senior compound unlimited, Cutter Polly was only a single point away from being the best archer in Colorado, placing second individually.

Nevertheless, Cutter still made the cut to go to nationals in his final year of eligibility, said his father and coach, Shawn Polly.

Cutter shot alongside Tatam Hickman, Jaci McDiffett, Brittany Schulze and Zach Soron, sixth as a team, while Moffat County archery was rounded out by the fifth-place junior compound limited group of Alexander Nichols, Brook Wheeler, Caitlyn Adams, Joseph Green, Emma Knez and Zackery Durham.

Shawn Polly said the state competition is fierce and even stressful for shooters, but it’s something they’re trained to overcome.

“These kids handle it very well,” he said.

Moffat County 4-H shooting sports state results

Shooter/Team — RankShooter/Team — Rank

Shooter/Team — Rank

RifleRifle

Rifle

SeniorsSeniors

Seniors

HuntingHunting

Hunting

Eli Ellis — 2

Angela Hill — 9

Donovan Converse — 51

Kelton Villard — 54

Lane White — 65

Team — 7

4-P Orion4-P Orion

4-P Orion

Angela Hill — 6

Eli Ellis — 8

Lane White — 33

Donovan Converse — 40

Kelton Villard — 42

Team — 5

3-P international3-P international

3-P international

Angela Hill — 2

Eli Ellis — 13

Lane White — 17

Donovan Converse — 28

Kelton Villard — 30

Team — 3

Hunt scopeHunt scope

Hunt scope

Angela Hill — 2

Eli Ellis — 14

Lane White — 27

Donovan Converse — 42

Kelton Villard — 57

Team — 5Team — 5

Team — 5

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

HuntingHunting

Hunting

Joey Gates — 3

Gabrielle Ellis — 7

Logan Blackwell — 11

Blake Hill — 17

Emma Knez — 35

Forrest Siminoe — 42

Team — 1

4-P Orion4-P Orion

4-P Orion

Gabrielle Ellis — 10

Joey Gates — 11

Chloe Villard — 12

Forrest Siminoe — 14

Logan Blackwell — 19

Tayla Siminoe — 26

Team — 1

3-P international3-P international

3-P international

Gabrielle Ellis — 2

Joey Gates — 12

Emma Knez — 16

Forrest Siminoe — 19

Logan Blackwell — 20

Elias Browning — 23

Team — 3

Hunt scopeHunt scope

Hunt scope

Joey Gates — 3

Gabrielle Ellis — 4

Logan Blackwell — 9

Blake Hill — 13

Forrest Siminoe — 17

Tayla Siminoe — 21

Team — 1

PistolPistol

Pistol

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

Joseph Winters — 20

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 27

Team — 6

Air rifleAir rifle

Air rifle

SeniorsSeniors

Seniors

UtilityUtility

Utility

Angela Hill — 8

Sporter

Angela Hill — 9

Olympic offhand

Angela Hill — 4

3-P3-P

3-P

Angela Hill — 2

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

UtilityUtility

Utility

Forrest Siminoe — 15

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 35

4-P sporter4-P sporter

4-P sporter

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 18

Forrest Siminoe — 25

Olympic offhandOlympic offhand

Olympic offhand

Forrest Siminoe — 18

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 22

3-P precision3-P precision

3-P precision

Forrest Siminoe — 10

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 22

Air pistolAir pistol

Air pistol

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

Tayla Siminoe — 6

Joseph Winters — 15

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 32

Team — 8

MuzzleloadingMuzzleloading

Muzzleloading

SeniorsSeniors

Seniors

TraditionalTraditional

Traditional

Logan Knez — 27

Open classOpen class

Open class

Logan Knez — 14

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

Open classOpen class

Open class

Mackenzie Schneider-Ott — 4

ArcheryArchery

Archery

SeniorsSeniors

Seniors

Compound unlimitedCompound unlimited

Compound unlimited

Cutter Polly — 2

Tatam Hickman — 20

Jaci McDiffett — 32

Brittany Schulze — 41

Zach Soron — 48

Team — 6

Compound limitedCompound limited

Compound limited

Nick Pugh — 1

Kyla Pogline — 3

Steven Walls — 5

Ben Pugh — 27

Brenna Knez — 42

Hunter Nitzel — 67

Team — 1

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

Compound unlimitedCompound unlimited

Compound unlimited

Kimber Wheeler — 1

Tahoe Chenoweth — 5

Kelsey McDiffett — 6

Tiffany Hill — 15

Winter Rogers — 22

Faith Berkey — 24

Team — 1

Compound limitedCompound limited

Compound limited

Tiffany Hill — 22

Alexander Nichols — 5

Brook Wheeler — 30

Caitlyn Adams — 33

Joseph Green— 50

Emma Knez — 60

Zackery Durham — 69

Team — 5

ShotgunShotgun

Shotgun

SeniorsSeniors

Seniors

ClaysClays

Clays

Jesse Earle — 35

Lane White — 36

Carlin King — 49

Toryn Hume — 50

Bryce Tuttle — 68

Brayden Tuttle — 88

Team — 10

SkeetSkeet

Skeet

Carlin King — 27

Bryce Tuttle — 36

Brayden Tuttle — 61

Toryn Hume — 72

Jesse Earle — 81

Lane White — 111

Team — 10

TrapTrap

Trap

Bryce Tuttle — 9

Carlin King — 21

Toryn Hume — 22

Lane White — 74

Brayden Tuttle — 90

Jesse Earle — 110

Team — 9

JuniorsJuniors

Juniors

ClaysClays

Clays

Trevor Hume — 12

Laadan Rothermund — 17

Logan Blackwell — 21

Torin Gray — 60

Team — 9

SkeetSkeet

Skeet

Trevor Hume — 8

Laadan Rothermund — 25

Logan Blackwell — 29

Torin Gray — 42

Team — 6

TrapTrap

Trap

Trevor Hume — 7

Logan Blackwell — 18

Torin Gray — 36

Laadan Rothermund — 43

Team — 13

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