Quirky birds add to challenge at Nashua Trapshooting Invitational

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

NASHUA — One of the reasons it’s so hard to hit even .250 in major league baseball today is that the pitchers have further weaponized their repertoires with things like “lane-changing” sliders.

One of the reasons no one hit 50 at Saturday’s Nashua High School Trapshooting Invitational held at the Nashua Fish and Game Club was because of things like “lane-changing” flying targets.

Though these hopping and sometimes dipping clay pigeons mimicked more the movement of a knuckleball than a slider.

Saturday’s blustery winds, which picked up as the tournament progress, assaulted the shooters from the northwest while bewitching the propelled birds. Still, most competitors hit more than they missed.

Dwight Schwickerath, shooting for New Hampton’s Red Team, followed up a perfect 25-of-25 round with a near-perfect 24-of-25 latter round which added to an individual first-place total of 49.

With N.H. Red teammate Kayla Holschlag posting the best female score (46), the squad won the invite with a team score of 226.

Charles City junior Colton Crooks was perfect in his first round before finishing with an overall score of 44. Crooks, with Daniel Laube and Cael Ruzicka both hitting 43 birds, Justin Heyer hitting 42 and Drew Staudt hitting 38, helped the Comets’ No. 1 team place third (210).

Turkey Valley Red placed second (214).

Charles City’s best shooter on Saturday was junior Landon Luft, whose 47 matched New Hampton White’s Layne Nehl as the second-best score of the day.

Senior Sydney Ross was Charles City’s best female shot with a score of 39.

“That’s a pretty good score for me under these conditions,” said Ross, who shot when the windy conditions were at their most daunting.

Charles City freshman Taylor Quade, who was the other female shooter in Ross’s group, hit 37 targets.