Statesmen Wrap Up Perfect Fall with Conference Title
Waukee--The William Penn shotgun sports team finished off an immaculate fall campaign by taking gold at the Iowa Four-Year State Shoot Saturday and Sunday.
WPU placed first out of seven teams with a score of 1,588-for-1,750. The competition, although under a different name, basically serves as the conference championship and the navy and gold have won all four league crowns since the program's inception in the fall of 2020.
The event featured the disciplines of Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, and Super Sporting and the Statesmen swept all of the crowns. In fact, it was a complete sweep of awards as William Penn also won the individual High Overall Athlete laurels for both the men and women.
William Penn, which led the Trap competition with a score of 493-for-500, was headlined by perfect 100-for-100 scores by Dryden DeKoning (Jr., Newton, Iowa, Business Management) and Adison Sholes (Jr., Indianola, Iowa, Business Management). DeKoning won the shoot-off to take first overall in the individual standings.
Brianna Thompson (Sr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology) and her 98-for-100 not only scored for WPU, but was also the top overall female score. Russell Malterud (Grad., North Branch, Minn., Master's of Organizational Leadership) matched Thompson with just two misses, while the quartet of Raylee Bishop (Jr., Ankeny, Iowa, Engineering) (third among females), Tanner Muff (So., Lincoln, Neb., General Accounting), Cade Bowie (So., Benton, Ark., Business Management), and Lane Arrowood (Jr., Newton, Iowa, Biology) were all at 97-for-100.
William Penn's Skeet score of 491-for-500 was paced by Bishop and Emily Uitermarkt (Jr., Otley, Iowa, Elementary Education) finishing at 99-for-100; Bishop won the female title via a shoot-off. Bowie and Deacon Yeoman (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Industrial Technology) were next at 98-for-100, while incredible depth was on display as 11 individuals all managed tallies of 97-for-100.
Holly Boeke (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) garnered the top spot for both WPU and all shooters in Sporting Clays with a score of 84-for-100. Colton Heintz-Kuderer (Fr., Mabel, Minn., Biology) was next at 83-for-100 to top the male competitors, while Malterud (82), Connor Gittings (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) (79), and Nikolle Kussatz (Fr., Leighton, Iowa, Biology), Carver Van Zee (So., Pella, Iowa, Industrial Technology), and Noah DeBoef (Jr., Leighton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) (all at 78) scored for the navy and gold as well. Overall, the Statesmen posted a score of 406-for-500 for the discipline victory.
WPU's winning score of 199-for-250 in Super Sporting was buoyed by Colten Uitermarkt (Grad., Otley, Iowa, Master's of Organizational Leadership) with a tally of 41-for-50. The graduate student paced the field with his score. Heintz-Kuderer, Mathew Brindley (Jr., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology), and Bryon Baca (Grad., Colorado Springs, Colo., Master's of Organizational Leadership) each finished at 40-for-50, while the quintet of Boeke (first for females), Van Zee, Sholes, Malterud, and Wyatt Kresser (Fr., Independence, Iowa, Business Management) wrapped up the scoring at 38-for-50 apiece.
At 315-for-350, Malterud earned the HOA laurel, while Heintz-Kuderer was third overall at 314-for-350.
Boeke headed the women's standings at 308-for-350 to take home the female HOA award. Kussatz (300), KayLynn Sieber (Jr., Marshall, Minn., Biology) (298), Angie Wolfert (Jr., Waterford, Wis.) (294), and Bishop (292) were right behind her as the Statesmen swept the top five spots on the women's side.
"We are still not showing what this team is capable of, but our athletes definitely kept it together when it mattered most this weekend," Head Coach Steve Heaton said. "We have continued to push each other to be the best we can be. Now, we just need to take that next little step to be great. I am beyond proud of this team and thankful for the families supporting us through everything this fall season. To go undefeated against some of the top teams is a huge accomplishment."
