The Tarleton State University Trap & Skeet Club is the newest organization to come to Tarleton. The club was created at the end of the fall 2013 semester by a group of students with a passion for competing at the collegiate level of shotgun trap and skeet.

“I started this club personally,” President Shelby White said. “I have been shooting shotguns since I was eight years old. My grandmother is the one who got me started, and after high school, I had the opportunity to go to schools that had a shooting team, but my love for Tarleton was hard to overcome.”

The club was able to obtain a grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative in order to get the club started. There are 40 members currently in the group, which include former Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Ambassadors, 4-H members who shot at the district or state levels, and those with no shooting background at all.

White tried for three years before she was able to get the club off the ground.

“I wanted to spread my passion for shooting to others and allow them to compete,” White said. “I got a call from one of my Olympic coaches this summer and he told me that there were grants to help colleges and universities start a team. With his help I was able to financially start the club without having to ask Tarleton for money support.” 

Meetings for the club are held every Thursday in Nursing 102 at 6:30 p.m., and practice is during the week at a range right outside Stephenville.

“The one thing I would want people to take away from this club after joining would have to be that even if you have never tried a sport, it’s never too late nor too old,” White said. “Collegiate teamwork is more fun than high school level.” 

The Trap & Skeet Club recently competed in the 2014 Collegiate Clay Target Championships on March 25-30 in San Antonio. The team members competed against approximately 615 students from 73 schools from all over the country. The team was able to finish in third in the Division I HOA.

For American skeet, the 3rd place team was made up of Cody Sergeant, Chad Fleming, White, Dustin Robertson and Catherine Dean with a score of 455 out of 500.

In American trap, the team finished 3rd and consisted of Sergeant, Fleming, White, and Jake Jones with a total score of 466 out of 500.

For international skeet (wobble trap), the team also finished 3rd. The team was made up of Sergeant, Fleming, and Jake Willimon.

The team has no more competitions for the year, but practice for this sport continues year-round. For more information about the club, email White at [email protected].