At the recent TX YESS High School State Clay Target Championships, hosted in Northlake, the Marcus and Flower Mound high school club teams squared off against other teams from Texas.
Clay target sports include shooting skeet, trap and sporting. It doesn’t bring as many eyes as other high school sports, but it is fast growing around the nation, especially in Texas.
The clubs are separated by high schools, but have age divisions that include seventh and eighth graders, as well.
Marcus takes the podium
Marcus’s team finished in second place for overall skeet and third place overall in both trap and sporting.
“We are a club that’s competitive, but we don’t make cuts,” said Marcus head coach Jonathan Simmons. “We allow pretty much anyone who wants to come out and participate in tournaments or practices to do so.”
Marcus’s top shooter was Trip Kubin, who has been shooting for the club for seven years. Freshman Liam Simmons, and head coach Jonathan Simmons’ son, was behind him by one point.
One of the standout female shooters for Marcus was Josey Grantham who tied for highest overall score among the Junior Varsity ladies.
Coach Simmons said Grantham pulled off the victory after a thrilling shoot-off.
He also described first-year shooter Devon Luce as a rising star for the club. She had the highest overall score in the Intermediate ladies division.
“She was putting up scores that could have beat higher divisions,” he said.
Along with his freshman son Liam, Coach Simmons has a sophomore daughter, Claire, on the team, as well.
She finished fourth in both trap and sporting clays.
“Having my sophomore daughter and freshman son on the team can be difficult when I’m trying to coach them, but it has been thrilling to watch them improve from their first tournament to dominating,” said Coach Simmons.
Coach Simmons has another daughter, Olivia, that also went through his coaching at Marcus. Now, she is leading Missouri Valley College’s team.
She became the first individual in program history to win national titles at the championship, taking first place in both skeet and double skeet, according to a report from The Delta.
Coach Simmons also credited his assistant coaches for their help in developing the athletes and helping grow the team into what it.
“Without Scott Dice, former team member Dawson Simback and Chris Wuensche, the team would not be as good as it is,” he said.
Flower Mound continues to grow
Flower Mound finished seventh in skeet and eighth in both trap and sporting. One of the Junior Varsity ladies, Claire Cole, took first in trap. At a previous event, she shot a perfect round, meaning she hit all 25 targets in all four rounds.
“We’re a little smaller in size, but we’ve started to bubble up to the top as far as local teams,” said Matt Graybiel, the communications chair for the Flower Mound team. “Claire has only been shooting since October and already shot her first perfect round.”
A rising star for the Marcus men is Vishwa Lavu, who was in a five-way tie for first place in skeet, hitting 98 out of 100 shots, but chose not to participate in the shootout and finish a school project, instead.
“Vishwa is a super smart kid and he sees school as more important,” said Graybiel. “I asked his dad if he was going to make it back in time for the shootout and he said he wasn’t sure, but Vishwa really wanted to get an ‘A’ on the project.”
Graybiel’s son, John, competes on the Flower Mound team.
A cross-town rivalry and Olympic-level learning
Graybiel appreciates the competition Flower Mound and Marcus provide for each other and the rivalry it has created.
“We’re trying to help each other out,” he said. “We’re cross-town rivals but we like to see each other do well.”
Right now, Flower Mound’s team is focused on getting more kids signed up. They host open registrations, hang flyers and try to get seventh graders to join so they can practice with the team until they get into high school.
Coach Simmons appreciates the rivalry between the two schools, as well.
“It’s a lot of fun to go up against Flower Mound and build that camaraderie,” he said. “We’re all in the same town, we see each other at tournaments, so we see some rivalries and friendships and that’s been a great thing.”
Both coaches were thankful to have an event hosted locally and for the teams to be able to get extra coaching from local Olympians like Vincent Hancock and Austin Smith.
“Northlake has done a great job,” said Graybiel. “Having that and Olympians and other national level coaches in our backyard is fantastic. The kids have learned so much.”
“It’s a great motivator,” said Coach Simmons. “The kids really enjoy being able rub elbows with Olympians and they’re all excited to help these kids improve and find their love for the sport.”
Up next
There will be another state competition in San Antonio put on by the Scholastic Clay Target Program from June 9-12. There will also be a YESS national competition from June 25-28 that will be hosted in San Antonio.
