SAN ANTONIO - American Historian and Philosopher Will Durant once said "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." Winning national championships for Iowa Western Shotgun Sports has become habit as the Reivers brought home their third national title in as many years.
After five days and thousands of clays at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, TX, IWCC once again finished at the top of the ACUI Division IV standings, outbreaking 2nd place Iowa Central by 43 to win the Division IV High Overall with a score of 2788. The Reivers finished first in Skeet, Doubles Skeet, Doubles Trap, and Sporting Clays and second in both Trap and Super Sporting.
"I couldn't be more proud of these athletes," said Head Coach Derek Pollock. "It has been amazing to watch this young team's growth and see them come through all of the challenges they face throughout the season. Any time I can watch my athletes reach their goals, it keeps me driving for the next year."
Freshman Abby Johnson was Iowa Western's lone individual national champion, defeating teammate Janice Tejada, who finished runner-up, and 36 others in the Women's Class B Trap. "I am so lucky to have teammates and coaches who have helped me learn and grow in this sport over the past eight years," said Johnson. "This team has worked so hard at helping each other throughout the year. The support that we had from our coaches and parents was unmatched. The village we have built this season played a huge part in all of the success that we had."
IWCC took three of the top four spots in the Women's Class B trap with Freshman Sara Carr ending the week in fourth place behind Johnson and Tejada. The three Reivers out-shot athletes from Texas A&M, Clemson, Wichita State, and a host of 4-year colleges and universities. Tejada also placed 2nd in both the Women's Class A Skeet and Class B Double Trap and Johnson finished 3rd in Class B Double Trap.
Kelly Holt added a 2nd place finish in Women's Class C Skeet and was 3rd in both Class C Double Trap and Class C Double Skeet while Payton Kruse rounded out the women's disciplines with a 2nd place showing in Class C Double Trap.
On the men's side, Mason Gerdes took home 3rd place in the Men's Class B Double trap and Tyler Uhri finished in 3rd place in the Class C Double Trap, leading the Reivers in three of the six disciplines, scoring 91 or more in those events.
As a team, Iowa Western finished 14th out of 106 two-year and four-year colleges and Universities, 131 points behind Lindenwood University, who finished at the top of the overall Team HOA standings with a score of 2919.
This is the 2nd ACUI championship that the Reivers have earned, taking the title in 2022 before winning last year's NCSSAA Division IV title in Las Vegas.
The full results can be found here.
