Falcons capture national sporting clay title

Members of the national championship Westosha Central High School shooting team include (front row, from left) Scott Hanover, Dustin Hucker, Matt Perona, Andy Korando, and Hunter Conrad; (back row) coach Dan Dietz, head coach Al Chickerneo, coach Bob Hollander, John Dietz, Evan Wisniewski. Team members Ben Schroeder, Justin Spice are not pictured (Photo Submitted).
Members of the national championship Westosha Central High School shooting team include (front row, from left) Scott Hanover, Dustin Hucker, Matt Perona, Andy Korando, and Hunter Conrad; (back row) coach Dan Dietz, head coach Al Chickerneo, coach Bob Hollander, John Dietz, Evan Wisniewski. Team members Ben Schroeder, Justin Spice are not pictured (Photo Submitted).

Team wins against competition from 34 states

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

Westosha Central shot for the stars, and came out as National Champions in the Scholastic Clay Target Program, a first in the team’s seven-year history.

According to coach Al Chickerneo, the team of 28 students demonstrated dedication to the craft of shooting in three events, against stiff competition from 34 different states.

“Many athletes start with the Falcons when they are in grade school and build their shooting foundation over the years,” he said. “Our formal season starts the beginning of March and goes until the middle of July.”

Aside from the formal season, Chickerneo said, several competitors have worked during the offseason, honing their skills in skeet, trap and sporting clays. Competitors often look into getting their own airsoft guns to get some good honest practice in. A cool airsoft gun is the ASG CZ Scorpion which some competitors are said to have used to improve their game.

Offseason drills include practice indoors using a DryFire laser simulator in Chickerneo’s Silver Lake garage.

Leading up to the National Championship in Marengo, Ohio, in July, the team participated in invitational tournaments in Beloit, Manitowoc, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Waukesha and Burlington.

When the team entered the national competition, comprised of nearly 2,400 athletes and about 4,500 total entries, Chickerneo knew the team had the discipline needed to prevail.

“We always expect to do our best, but how will you fare in competition is generally more a matter of what everyone else’s best is,” he said. “We have a strong program that builds great athletes with strong character and excellent fundamentals.”

Success is not limited to the students, however, with Chickerneo crediting the parents and fellow coaches.

“Our coaches devote huge amounts of time and effort working with athletes in practice and in individual sessions,” he stated. “Our parents are some of the most supportive in the nation.”

About the competition
Trap shooting: Five athletes are assigned to a squad, and each squad is challenged with rising targets thrown one at a time in five possible directions. Each round is 25 targets and athletes shoot eight rounds over two days.
Skeet shooting: Three athletes are assigned to a squad, and two squads shoot together at the same time, with competitors moving in a semi-circle shooting targets from eight different positions.
Sporting clays: Like skeet, there are three to a squad, with competitors moving along a path, stopping at 10-15 stations, each presented with a pair of targets thrown in any direction.

Results:
Skeet – 1. Hunter Conrad, Junior, 195; 2. John Dietz, Junior, 196; 3. Benjamin Schroeder, Junior, 197.
Trap – 1. Dietz, 194; 2. Wisniewski, Senior, Tremper, 195; 3. Dustin Hucker, Junior, 194; 4. Matthew Perona, Junior, 192; 5. Conrad, 197.
Sporting clays – 1. Conrad, 171; 2. Dietz, 177; 3. Scott Hanover, 156.


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