Straight shooters

The Kootenai Trap Team is right on target.

Young shooters from the Kootenai Joint School District in Harrison are celebrating their second consecutive state title after a victory Saturday at the Idaho Clay Target State Tournament in Boise.

Kootenai Trap won the Idaho Clay Target Spring 2023 League Conference 2 Title and defended its title as Kootenai athletes won 13 of 19 individual awards.

Sophomore Noah Cook took first place in the High Gun Varsity Male category. Noah was on the 2022 state championship team and represented Kootenai at the national competition in July 2022, but didn't place.

This year, his dedication paid off.

"On the way to Boise, Noah just said, 'I'm going to win,'" said his mom, Vicki Cook. "He was determined. And he did it."

Noah, who has been involved in shooting sports for just two years, said it was amazing and a relief to see how he and his teammates fared when results were posted.

"It was just showing off about how our team can succeed at anything we want to do," he said Tuesday. "Everybody’s worked so hard to get here."

Noah and six other Kootenai athletes will compete July 5-10 in Michigan at the USA Clay Target National Championship: Seth Cook, Sadie Rose Davidson, Ben Chaffey, Gavin Tiller, Brooklyn Charles and Keira Bohannan.

An outgoing seventh grader, Sadie Rose overcame a physical injury before earning first place in the High Gun Varsity Female category. She was in a four-wheeling accident in October 2022 that caused her to have severe double vision in her right eye. Despite the physical setback, she trained and wore corrective lenses to see the clay targets. She won the state title for female shooters, despite the double vision and pain associated with her injuries.

"It's been difficult," Sadie Rose said. "I had special glasses for the state tournament to help me with my shooting. I was thankful for the encouragement from some of my teammates and I tried to do my best. It worked. My best was the best and I won."

Kootenai was the largest team at state, with 19 competing athletes. Eight of the 19 shooters had also competed in the 2022 championship.

The Kootenai Trap Team is part of the nonprofit Kootenai Shooting Sports, which provides education and shooting opportunities to youth in Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties. The team was founded by Mary and Ron Nelson, who serve as manager and head coach, respectively. Their son, Ronnie Nelson, won state last year. Sadie Rose, their daughter, will continue the Nelson legacy this summer.

"I'm a proud mom," Mary said. "Two years in a row, I've watched my kids as new shooters. Seeing them grow and develop has been really exciting."

The Nelsons started the team in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. When other activities shut down, shooting sports offered alternatives for youths to participate on teams that practiced outside.

What began with about eight kids has now become the largest such team in the state.

"From a holistic team perspective, I am absolutely thrilled to see kids that would not otherwise have opportunities to compete in athletics, and they're getting to shine," Mary said, adding that only a few of the 19 team members had prior shooting sports experience.

"They are new to this sport and they are killing it," she said.

Kootenai Trap Team awards earned at the Idaho Clay Target State Tournament:

• High Gun Novice Female:

First place — Hunter Charles, sixth grade; second place — Claire Cook, ninth grade; third place — Chloe Dorman, ninth grade

• High Gun Novice Male:

First place — Noah Castles, eighth grade; second place — Logan Strobel, eighth grade

• High Gun Jr. Varsity Female:

First place — Taryn John, ninth grade

• High Gun Jr. Varsity Male:

Third place — Caleb Nelson, 10th grade

• High Gun Varsity Female:

First place — Sadie Rose Davidson, seventh grade; second place — Brooklyn Charles, seventh grade; third place — Keira Bohannan, 11th grade

• High Gun Varsity Male:

First place — Noah Cook, 10th grade; third place — Seth Cook, ninth grade

• High Gun Overall:

State Champion — Noah Cook, 10th grade