LAS VEGAS (March 13-19, 2023) – After seven days and thousands of targets, Iowa Western Shotgun Sports claimed the 2023 Division V title at the National Collegiate Shooting Sports Athletic Association National Championships.
The Reivers topped the nine-team standings in five of the six disciplines over a week of competition. Iowa Western won Doubles Skeet, Doubles Trap, Super Sporting, American Skeet, and Sporting Clays en route to the victory. Their lone loss was a second-place finish in American Trap, by just two targets. The team also won the High Overall with a total score of 1394.
"I am so incredibly proud of this team," said Head Coach, Derek Pollock. "The hours of training in freezing cold weather have paid off. Watching these athletes reach their goals has made this trip even more memorable."
Sophomore Shane Manyik won the Doubles Skeet competition with a score of 97, Sophomore Nathan Schulte won Doubles Trap, breaking 97 targets, and Freshman Zane Lilly and five others scored a perfect 100/100 in American Trap. Lilly defeated all of them with an additional 18 broken targets. Finally, Redshirt Sophomore John DeFord defeated three others in a break-off with 98 targets with an additional two in American Skeet.
"When you share that moment with your teammates there's no better feeling," said Manyik. "When you see all of the work your team puts in, it shows when you end up on top."
Lilly added, "Coming into the shoot-off for the tie-breaker, and having my coaches and team there to have my back and support me was a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Walking off the line as a national champion felt surreal to say the least."
On the women's side, Freshman Kelly Holt won in a break-off in American Skeet with 94 broken targets and an additional four and Freshman Janice Tejeda defeated two others in a break-off after being tied at 99/100 targets to win American Trap.
"After having a shoot-off to break the tie for first place, it felt surreal that I'd just won my first true shotgun award at the national level," stated Holt. "My coaches and teammates had been helping me a lot prior to the competition with the mentality it takes to consistently hit my targets. It was thrilling to realize the hard work paid off in the form of a national title."
"All of those years of practice, coaching, and frustration have paid off," added Tejeda. "The mental battles that have been fought over and over and the obstacles that college has taught me to overcome at each competition built me up for each day here at nationals."
This is the second national championship in a row for the Iowa Western Shotgun Sports program. Last season saw the Reivers claim the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target National Title in San Antonio, Texas.
Full results of the competition can be found here.
