The Hermiston High School trapshooting team finished second at the Oregon State High School Clay Target League State Tournament, June 26-27, 2021, at the Hillsboro Trap and Skeet Club. The Bulldogs finished one target behind champion Newberg.

HILLSBORO — Hermiston, Pendleton and Echo competed in the Oregon State High School Clay Target League State Tournament and came away with some pretty impressive hardware.

The competition was June 26-27 at the Hillsboro Trap and Skeet Club. The Bulldogs finished second in the 2A Division standings with a 473, one target behind Newberg High School.

“Two birds would have won it,” Hermiston coach John Adams said. “It was pretty rough conditions. The record heat (113 degrees) didn’t make it that easy to shoot. It was a pretty good showing.”

Trapshooting is a club sport and is not sponsored by the Oregon School Activities Association.

Hermiston’s Karsten Bracher tied for fifth in the boys high gun event with a 96, while teammate Austin Garberg tied for seventh with a 95.

Newberg’s David Goehner won the state title, hitting all 100 clay targets.

Dustin Hamilton and Tyler Pearson tied for 10th (94) for the Bulldogs, while Roarke Smith and Nick Malmberg tied for 16th with a 93 to round out the top five.

Also competing, but not scoring, were Allen Osmin (22nd, 92), Radley Griggs (T24th, 91), Joseph Gutierrez (T26, 90), Kuper Bracher (T26, 90), Bryce Wilson (T39, 88), Bradley Rysdam (T55, 86), Jadyn Davis (T55, 86), Blake Harper (T59, 85), Zeddrik Cota (T69, 83), Roland Moore (T69, 83), Hunter Link (T87, 78), Keagan McCann (T87, 78), Chase Lantis (T94, 77) and Cody Adams (101st, 70).

Hermiston will send a team to nationals in Lansing, Michigan, on July 7-11.

Competing will be Karsten Bracher, Pearson, Hamilton, Osmin and Kuper Bracher. Garberg is the alternate.

1A Division

Junior Cooper Simmons of Pendleton High School finished second overall, hitting 99 of 100 targets. Lane Tanzey of Wallowa High School hit all 100 targets to win the state title.

“This is my best score,” said Simmons, who has been shooting for five years. “I went to state in 2019 and shot a 92 or a 93. It takes a lot of practice and shooting. If you think about it, you will miss.”

Freshman Cody Ray of Echo finished tied for 17th with a 92, while Pendleton’s Dylan Alexander tied for 21st with a 91. Michael Dorn of Echo and Brayden Harrison of Pendleton tied for 36th with an 86, and Devlyn Wilson of Echo was 57th with a 73.

In the girls high gun division, Riley Hampton of Echo finished second with a 93, one target behind winner Meadow Copher of Estacada. Echo’s Emily Ray and Preslie Bowles tied for seventh with an 86, and Elliot Glenn tied for 10th with an 84.

“It was so much fun,” Emily Ray said. “It was a blast. I personally feel I could have done better. I didn’t shoot my best, but it was a good experience.”

Kylee Jackson finished 12th with an 83, followed by Mazie Reeser (T15, 76) and Mykael Graham (18th, 70) for the Cougars.

In the team standings, Echo finished seventh with a 443, while Pendleton was 11th with a 426. Crane won the team title with a 476.

There were 809 students from 44 high schools who competed in the Oregon State High School Clay Target League this spring.

Ray and fellow Echo senior Michael Dorn were named to the all-state team. Ray averaged a conference-high 23 out of 25 for the season, while Dorn averaged a 22.8. Echo won the Conference 3 title (boys and girls points are combined).