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North Scott’s Long takes state trap shooting title
CEDAR FALLS - By the time the gun smoke cleared after the regulation round of the State High School Trap Championship here Sunday, it was obvious a shooter from the North Scott team would win the individual title.
But it took an additional 75-round shootoff to determine that freshman Eric Long would edge junior teammate Drew Bjustrom for the title.
Long said he would have enjoyed winning it more if his opponent in the shootoff had been from another school.
Long and Bjustrom each broke 99 of 100 birds in the regulation competition, and they each broke all 25 in the first shootoff round from 17 yards. The tie remained unbroken in the second round after each shooter missed one of 25 from 22 yards.
In the third round, from 27 yards, the lead changed hands three times. With just five birds remaining in the round, Bjustrom had two fewer misses than his teammate. But he missed on four of his five final shots, while Long broke all five to claim the victory by two birds.
North Scott coach David Fredericksen said the seesaw shootoff underscores one of the principles the coaching staff tries to instill in team members - don't get discouraged by misses.
'We try to teach them that every bird counts, to forget about the misses and focus on the next bird,” he said.
With the top two individual shooters, it was not surprising that North Scott also won the team title.
Bjustrom, Long, Kyle Coomer, Hunter Roenfeldt and Joshua Rymans broke 482 of 500 birds. Defending team champion Maquoketa finished second with a score of 470.
Isabella Worrall of Charles City broke 96 of 100 birds to finish first among female competitors. Nicole Diprima of Fort Madison broke 94 for second place, and Emily Klein of Clear Creek Amana broke 93 to finish third.
Maquoketa dominated the Scholastic Clay Target Program state competition on Thursday and Friday, with its two teams placing first and second in the 98-team field.
The winning team - John Crowley, Lane Dundee, Kolton Manning, Sam Fowler and Dylan Schepers - broke 964 out of 1,000 birds.
l Comments: (319) 934-3172; orlan.love@thegazette.com
Eric Long (left) and Drew Bjustrom, teammates on the state champion North Scott High School trapshooting team, competed head to head Sunday in a 75-round shootoff to determine which of them would claim the top individual title.
Orlan Love/The Gazette Drew Bjustrom fires a round Sunday during a head-to-head shootoff with North Scott High School teammate Eric Long to determine which of them would claim the individual title in the State High School Trap Championship at the Cedar Falls Gun Club.
Orlan Love photos/The Gazette Eric Long of North Scott High School competes Sunday in a shootoff to determine the individual title in the State High School Trap Championship at the Cedar Falls Gun Club. Long won the individual title and helped North Scott win the team title.
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