The shotgun sports team earned multiple team and individual titles at its NCSSAA sanctioned Lindenwood University Spring Open February 23-26 at the Gateway Gun Club in Bridgeton, Missouri and Nilo Farms Sporting Clays in Brighton, Illinois.
The Lions won the American Skeet team title with a total score of 496/500 targets. Senior and assistant trap captain
Ryan Loveless (100),
Christian Jackowski (99),
Tristan Stubbs (99),
Matthew Blankenship (99), and
Matthew Mitchell (99) combined for the winning total with Loveless shooting his first 100 straight in the discipline. Other notable performances came from
Klayton McGee,
Jacob Diller, and
Jake Deane who all shot 98/100.
In American Trap, Lindenwood finished second, just one target behind William Penn in first with 491/500. Stubbs (100), McGee (100), Diller (97),
Konnor Vohs (97), and Loveless (96) combined for the Lions total of 490/500. Stubbs and McGee tied with one other shooter for the top spot individually to earn joint titles all with perfect scores.
The Lions claimed the team title in Sporting Clays on a challenging course with a score of 443/500. Stubbs (92),
Jake Deane (90), Blankenship (88), Jackowski (87), and
Ryan Pena (86) combined for the Lindenwood total and a nine-target margin over second place Hillsdale College. Deane and Stubbs were two of only five collegiate competitors break the 90-target mark in the competition. Stubbs took second individually in collegiate competition with Deane finishing fifth. Recent fall 2023 commit Matthew Lorio shot an impressive 96/100 to win the high school title.
In the High Overall team competition, which is a combination of all three team scores from each discipline, Lindenwood claimed second place with 1,402/1,500, falling one target short of HOA Team Champion Hillsdale. Stubbs (291), Jackowski (279), Deane (278), Vohs (278), and Diller (276) combined for the Lions total.
Tristan Stubbs won the Men's HOA Individual Title with his 291/300 effort.
The Lindenwood Spring Open attracted 258 competitors from 14 colleges and multiple high schools over the four-day event.
The shotgun sports squad now looks forward to NCSSAA Nationals March 12-20 at the Clark County Shooting Complex in Las Vegas.
