The top marksmen from NRHEG’s clay target team competed Saturday at the Class AAA state tournament at Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake, according to a press release.

For the first time, the tournament was sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League through a partnership with the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League.

“All of the players should be proud of their participation in this event,” said NRHEG coach Dan Sorum. “Clay target shooting is starting to grow in other states as they look to Minnesota as a model, so it is inevitable there will be other state high school league events. This was the first in the nation, and they can say they were a part of it.”

The Panthers took 11th place in the team standings with a score of 456.

Kyle Bartz set a school record and led NRHEG by hitting 98 out of 100 targets. Collin Christenson posted a 95, Zachary Eustice a 90, Tyler Logan an 87 and Frank Altrichter an 86.

On his way to 98, Bartz shot the first 50 of his career, which followed Christenson’s 50 last week at Alexandria, which was the first ever for the team.

NRHEG was part of the second flight.

According to Sorum, the Panthers’ five state qualifiers were chosen by the numbers. They had NRHEG’s top five scoring averages during the regular season.

The Panthers posted a qualifying score that put them in 10th place.

“It was a tough shooting day, but all of our guys shot their average or better,” Sorum said. “The problem is to win the state tournament everyone needs to shoot over their average.”

The championship team from Buffalo did just that with a team score of 489 out of 500. Buffalo’s Kurt Potter was the only individual to score 100, and three of his teammates shot 99s.

After the team competition, Bartz and Christenson represented NRHEG’s squad as individuals. Just as the weather dampened the event in the morning, strong winds and driving rain disrupted the afternoon. Bartz shot an 85 as an individual, and Christenson scored a 90.

This tournament was over 10 years in the making and was the first of its kind in the nation, Sorum said. From across the state, 24 teams competed in five classes.