WPU Sweeps Titles in Final Warm-Up for Nationals

Waukee--The William Penn shotgun sports team will enter nationals on a high note after rolling to the title at the Simpson Shootout Saturday and Sunday.

The Statesmen finished first out of five teams with a score of 1,677-for-1,750, while host Simpson was a distant second at 1,586-for-1,750.

WPU claimed a sweep of all awards, including winning each of the four shooting disciplines.

Nathan Roberts (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) guided the navy and gold in Skeet with a perfect score of 100-for-100 to lead all competitors.  As a team, William Penn was first at 494-for-500.

Cade Bowie (Jr., Benton, Ark., Business Management) and Emily Uitermarkt (Sr., Otley, Iowa, Elementary Education) each tallied scores of 99-for-100, while the trio of Hunter Block (Grad., Eldridge, Iowa, Master's of Organizational Leadership), Nikolle Kussatz (So., Leighton, Iowa, Biology), and Emily Sjoberg (Fr., Citrus Heights, Calif., Undecided) also scored at 98-for-100.

WPU's domination of Skeet included posting each of the top 15 scores.

The Statesmen struggled a bit in Trap, but still came away with the crown at 484-for-500 with Brianna Thompson (Jr., Campbellsport, Wis., Psychology) and Addison McGehearty (Fr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Undecided) finishing at 98-for-100 to tie for second.

Hayden Lund (Fr., Beaverdam, Wis., Sports Management), Trenton Giese (Fr., Muskego, Wis., Mechanical Engineering), and Brandon Nord (Jr., Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., New Media) all recorded 96-for-100 performances as well.

Paced by Giese's winning score of 95-for-100, the navy and gold won Sporting Clays (461-for-500).  Dryden DeKoning (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Business Management) was right behind his teammate at 94-for-100, while Bowie (91-for-100), Connor Gittings (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) (91), and Sjoberg (90) were also on the scoreboard for their team.

An additional 50 shots were taken by each individual in Super Sporting with a 49-for-50 effort by Tanner Muff (Jr., Lincoln, Neb., Public Accounting) winning the discipline.  Overall, WPU was 238-for-250 for another gold.

DeKoning and Giese locked down second place at 48-for-50, while Wyatt Kresser (So., Independence, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) was next at 47-for-50.  Uitermarkt and Colton Heintz-Kuderer (So., Mabel, Minn., Biology) both finished at 46-for-50 for the Statesmen as well.

The top six scores in both Sporting Clays and Super Sporting came from William Penn.

Giese collected the High Overall Athlete award at 335-for-350, while DeKoning was on his heels at 334-for-350 for the silver.  Sjoberg won the Female HOA title at 324-for-350.  William Penn secured the top 11 spots in the HOA standings.

"I am proud of how the team has been practicing; the results are beginning to show their hard work," Head Coach Colten Uitermarkt said.  "The spring season is extremely short and the team has been working diligently to perfect their game."

Next Up: William Penn travels to San Antonio, Texas from March 16-22 to compete in the ACUI National Championship.