By Rich Winter

605 Sports

MASON, Mich. — During the opening round of the team competition at the 2022 USA High School Clay Target National Championships, the Winner/Colome shooting team broke 482 targets. That effort, the best it had ever shot together, put the team from south central South Dakota in 11th place heading into Sunday’s finals. 

On Sunday, the five-person team of Katie Welker, Jack Anderson, Jude Sargent, Hunter Shippy and Faith Covey broke 486 targets, finishing as the sixth-best high school team in the country. 

“Jude broke 99 targets, Jack Anderson, Hunter Shippy and myself all had 98’s and Faith Covey had a 93,” Winner/Colome trap shooter Katie Welker said. 

Winner/Colome broke 124-of-125 clay’s on its third box of shells and only missed two targets on its fourth box. 

“We were ecstatic,” Welker said. “We couldn’t believe we shot that well so we were pretty happy with the results.” 

The top-five teams received plaques for their efforts with the Winner/Colome team being one broken target away from finishing in the top-five. 

On Saturday, during the individual competition, Welker and Jack Anderson both qualified for Sunday’s individual finals. 

Welker broke 99 targets on Saturday and broke 97 on Sunday, finishing as the third best female in the country breaking 196 targets. 

Welker got on a roll Sunday breaking 50-50 targets in the team competition, then breaking 50 of her first 50 targets in the individual competition. 

“It’s pretty cool to finish that high and I’m pretty happy with how I shot,” she said. 

Colome's Katie Welker finished as the third best female at the USA High School Clay Target National Championships - Courtesy Photo

Anderson shot well in the individual competition but did not finish in the top-10. 

On their way home from Michigan, Welker arrived back to Colome late Monday afternoon. Later this week she’ll head to Mitchell for the State ATA championships on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Late Saturday the family heads for Gillette, Wyoming, where Katie will compete in the trap-shooting competition at the National High School Finals Rodeo. 

USA High School Clay Target League National Championship results: