Alta-Aurelia trap team posts strong finishes in Emmetsburg and Estherville

Alta-Aurelia’s youngest shooters helped define one of the program’s strongest Saturdays of the spring, as Cali Pineda won the Rookie Division in Emmetsburg and the rookie team finished first. The day sent Alta-Aurelia to two meets, first in Emmetsburg and then in Estherville, forcing students to stay sharp through a full slate of rounds and a long stretch of competition.

In Emmetsburg, where the Emmetsburg Hot Shots hosted a field that also included GT-RA Bullseyes, Humboldt High School Wild Cats, Pocahontas County Shooting Sports, Emmet County Clay Busters, Cherokee County Youth Shooting Sports, Algona High School and Bishop Garrigan High School, Alta-Aurelia showed well across several divisions. J.W. Kelsey, Kimber Bartholomew, Gavin Anderson, Hayden Reeves and Dane Gunkelman placed second in the High School Junior Varsity Team Division. Landen Speers took second in the Intermediate Advanced Division, and Riley Kestel, Landen Speers, Lena Cates, Sophie Carlson and Zander Gonzalez finished second in the Advanced Team Division.

The lower divisions were just as productive. Bentley Robbins placed third in the Intermediate Entry Level Division, while Levi Wilkinson, Bentley Robbins, Braxton Robbins, Gavyn Marshall and Isaac Allen finished second in the Entry Level Team Division. That spread of results showed a program that is competitive well beyond one age group, with shooters filling out the roster from high school down through the youngest levels.

The rookies delivered the day’s sharpest results. In grades four and five, Pineda finished first and Mia Berkland took third. The Rookie Team Division of Pineda, Kash Kirby, Darren VanHouten, Mia Berkland and Nash Roling also finished first, a strong sign that Alta-Aurelia is developing talent at the start of the pipeline, not just at the varsity level.

The team had to turn around quickly for a second meet in Estherville, hosted by the Emmet County Clay Busters, where the field again stretched across northwest Iowa and included Pocahontas County Shooting Sports, Emmetsburg Hot Shots, Humboldt High School Wild Cats, GT-RA Bullseyes, Lakes Area Youth Shooting Sports, Sibley Ocheyedan Shooting Generals and Storm Lake Trapshooters. Pineda added another podium finish there, taking third in the Rookie Division.

The results fit the broader shape of Iowa scholastic shooting sports. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program is built around trap, skeet and sporting clays and is designed to teach safety, teamwork, ethics, mental focus, self-discipline and self-confidence. The DNR says athletes from grade school through college can participate, and that it serves as state advisor by helping new teams, training coaches and overseeing league competition and state championships.

Alta-Aurelia’s showing also matched a pattern already familiar to local shooters. In a May 2024 trap report, the school was again competing in Emmetsburg and Estherville with younger and older athletes spread across multiple divisions, a sign that the program has become a steady part of life for Alta and Aurelia families as well as a source of pride for Buena Vista County.