Oxford Clay Busters Capture Mississippi Scholastic Shooting State Title, Earn Multiple Honors

The Oxford Clay Busters claimed the Overall High Score Championship at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Scholastic Shooting Program state tournament, finishing ahead of the top 50 three-man teams that advanced through regional qualifiers this fall. Oxford sent two squads to the state championship, finishing first and eighth, according to the team report published March 3, 2026.

The statewide program administered by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks includes more than 80 teams from public schools, private academies and independent squads. One account of the state event noted that the State Championship welcomed the top 150 sporting clay, skeet, and trap shooters between 7th and 12th grades from throughout the state, and that winners of the tournament received a total of $10,000 in college scholarships provided by the Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Members of Oxford’s championship trio were Conner Phifer, Jack Wages and Turner Adams. Oxford Clay Busters also earned multiple team honors listed in the results: High Overall Team Average, High Overall Varsity Shooter Average, High Overall Junior High Shooter Average and the North Regional Team Championship. The Northern Regional High Overall Team Average explicitly included Wages, Adams and Phifer.

Individual awards highlighted Oxford shooters’ performances. Turner Adams was named High Overall Tournament Shooter and High Overall Junior High shooter, and he also secured Northern Regional High School’s Overall Junior High Shooter honors. Jack Wages earned High Overall Season Average and Northern Regional High Overall Shooter Average. Conner Phifer is listed as a member of the Northern Regional High Overall Team Average alongside Wages and Adams.

Oxford’s second squad finished eighth in the state finals; that team roster consisted of George Haymans, Mark West and Landon Walls. The Oxford squads are coached by Joey Buchanan, who is identified as a National Sporting Clays Association certified instructor.

Context from statewide scholastic shooting coverage notes several other Mississippi achievements and program touchpoints: Chase Smith of Tishomingo County achieved a perfect score in Handicap at the Mississippi Trap Association State Championship on September 26, 2020, at Capital Gun Club in Jackson, breaking 100 consecutive clays; a Tishomingo County shooter identified as Blake recorded a 197/200 (98 and 99) at the AIM Grand National Championship held July 30-August 3, 2021, at the World Shooting & Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois. Those items illustrate the depth of Mississippi’s scholastic shooting circuit that produced Oxford’s state champions.

With the Overall High Score Championship, multiple regional and individual honors, and a coach certified by the National Sporting Clays Association, Oxford’s program has solidified a prominent spot in the Mississippi scholastic shooting landscape while tapping into scholarship opportunities administered through the Foundation for Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.