Midland Hosts Annual Invitational Shoot, Garza Earns HOA

LINCOLN, Neb. – Midland University resumed action this past weekend for their annual “Ice-Out” shoot at Lincoln Trap & Skeet Club. The Warriors faced off against several midwestern schools including Concordia University, Connors State College, Doane University, Hastings College, Iowa Western Community College, Nebraska College of Tech Agriculture, Northwest Kansas Technical College, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and William Penn University.
The Warriors opened the competition on Friday with Doubles Skeet and Super Sporting. Leading the Midland was Canyon Ferris with a 48 which tied him for 2nd in the male division. Jace Garza contributed a 47 while Dalton Wilcox had a 45, and three Warriors had 44’s to round out the top 5. Concordia took the team and individual titles for the event.  Super Sporting Clays proved to be one of the top events of the weekend for Midland. Wilcox led the way with a near-perfect score of 49. Wilcox tied two other shooters which led to a shoot-off with Blake Greckel of Concordia and Tyler Conley of Connors State. Wilcox won the shoot-off with a score of 9/12. Midland’s remaining scorers for the team event score were Adin Doll (48), Garza (47), Callahan Healy (46), and Preston Schnitzler (46). The Warriors earned runner-up nods in the team event.
Saturday featured American Skeet and Sporting Clays events. In the American Skeet event, Garza continued to contribute impressive scores to the team by adding a 97. Derek Dishman also had a 97 for the team. Dalton Wilcox and Charlie Wachtel had 94s and Doll rounded out with a 93. As a team, the Warriors placed 3rd for the American Skeet.
On Sunday, the Warriors found their stride in their best event–American Trap. Three Warriors had perfect 100/100s in windy conditions for the American Trap event. Shane Biser, Jace Garza, and Charlie Wachtel each contributed to the team score of 494/500. Healy and Wilcox contributed to the final two spots with 97s. The three perfect Warriors found themselves in a five-person shoot off with Kaden Bryant of NCTA and Mitchell Germany of IWCC. Biser took the title after one round of 15 targets from the 27-yard line.
Garza took home the title of Male HOA Champion by breaking a score of 380/400. Two Warriors took home individual event awards (Biser and Wilcox). The Concordia Bulldogs took home the HOA team award with a score of 1,880 while the Warriors were runner-up with a 1,872.
“I’m proud of what we have accomplished this weekend from a team and individual standpoint, but I’m also aware that we can do better and the team is aware of that also. We’re ready to get back to work and get better for the next week,” said Head Coach McThenia
Up next, Midland will be competing at the Prairie Classic Conference Championship in North Platte, Nebraska. The two-day competition begins on September 26.