RedTails Outclass Competition, Take Home Second Straight National Championship

MARENGO, OHIO-October 18-20 was a fun weekend to be a RedTail fan: the sports shooting team flexed their muscles at the SCTP Collegiate Division IV National Championships with a dominant performance and their second straight national championship.

The RedTails won the High-Over-All title by an impressive 168 birds. Individual squads won national championships in 5-Stand (124 total birds), Bunker (147 birds), Trap-Singles by 21 birds (935 birds), Skeet by 65 birds (886 birds), and Sporting Clays by 82 birds (713 birds). 

These squads were star studded, as this year's team has several student-athletes with five or more national titles to their names. Zachary Abbas is the only athlete in program history to be a three-time national champion in an event, and he did it in two events. The nine-time national champion took home his third title in 5-Stand and Bunker while missing a three-peat in Skeet by two birds. Eight-time national champ Patrick Kuper and first-year student-athlete Jake Maakestad both went five-for-five, taking home national championships in ever event they participated in. Second-year student-athletes Braxton Childers (eight-time champ), Zane Dausel (six-time champ), and Carter Farley (five-time champ) all added at least three national championships to their career totals.

"This is a special year filled with many great performances," said head coach Troy Emley. "We have enjoyed seeing these athletes mature as young men and women both on the field and off the field."

This commanding performance will be tough to top but there is still more out there for this RedTails team to achieve in the spring season.