Georgia Southern Clay Target Team clinches national titles in San Antonio
The Georgia Southern Clay Target Team soared to victory at the 2024 ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target Championship by earning the Division II Classic All-American (CAA) and the All-Division American Skeet champion titles in a historic first for the University.
The student-athletes competed at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas, during the weeklong tournament that drew nearly 1,200 shooters and 106 college teams representing 34 states.
“To say that I am proud of this team would truly be an understatement,” said Head Coach and alumnus Marty Fischer (‘74). “This team has accomplished more in just over three years of existence than perhaps any sports team in the history of Georgia Southern. Eagle Nation can be very proud of how they have competed nationwide at the highest level of the sport and how they have professionally represented this University.”
The team shot a record 497/500 to win the All-Division American Skeet national title. The top shooters for the Eagles were Tate Skipper, Andrew Cohen, Dawson Peek, Jackson Schaaf and Brayden Floyd.
Seniors Skipper and Cohen shot 100/100 scores in American Skeet and were joined by 17 other shooters with perfect scores. Skipper went on to win a head-to-head shoot off earning him first place in High Overall Skeet.
Not only was Skipper excited about his win, but he also reflected on the success of the team over the years.
“Throughout the four years at Georgia Southern, we’ve won three national championships, only coming up short last year by just seven targets to finish second,” he said. “It was just great to finish on a really high note and walk off technically being the best in the country at skeet. It was a good feeling.”
Cohen, a senior, shot 99/100 in skeet, 98/100 in trap and 94/100 in sporting clays for a 291/300 total that earned him the High Overall Champion for the CAA event.
Sophomore Cheyenne Anderson posted a 282/300 total score and claimed second place High Overall Lady in the CAA Division II. She also placed third in sporting clays with a 93/100 score.
Freshman Blake Reed shot a 100/100 in American Trap and finished third overall for High Overall in the CAA Division II. This was the first 100-straight American Trap finish for a Georgia Southern shooter in the Collegiate Clay Target Championship.
Junior Landon DeLoach shot 96/100 to earn second place in Sporting Clays.
This is the third ACUI high overall Collegiate Clay Target National Championship that the Eagles have won. They were the Division IV National Champions in 2021 and the Division III National Champion in 2022. Divisions are based on the number of shooters a team enters rather than the size of the school.
Skipper is reflective of the camaraderie among the group and his time at Georgia Southern.
“We’ve been shooting with this group of guys this whole time,” said Skipper. “We’ve always been very competitive at a high level, and I’ve enjoyed that. Georgia Southern was definitely the right fit for me to be able to go and shoot at a very high level and be with some of my closest friends who are in the shooting world.”
Graduating seniors Andrew Weiche, Skipper, Cohen and Neal Sellers were all four-year athletes that will leave Georgia Southern as some of the most decorated student-athletes ever at Georgia Southern, Fischer added.
“As phenomenal as it is for the Georgia Southern Clay Target Team to win its third National Championship in four years, the All-Division American Skeet National Champion is truly a crowning achievement,” said Fischer.
Georgia Southern’s Clay Target Team is a club sport, which is administered by Campus Recreation and Intramurals. Each club sports team is organized and led by students. Most club sports are highly competitive at the state, regional and national levels.
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