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White
Mountain Independent
The White
Mountain Clay
Busters team, 2024, are Kaely Blake, from left, Sienna Petterson, Gage
Vandekrol, Joshua Juergens Davis, Ethan Kerr, Georgia Kerr, Bridger
Garvin, Joscelyn Ortega, James Fawcett, Bryson Blake, Johnathan Earl,
Noelle Basin, Preston Basinger, Morgan Riesop, Tanner Giarrizzo, Ronan
Fenstermaker, Nolan Terrill and Brecken Blake.
Not
pictured is Talitha
Applegate. Article
Courtesy of Kurt Kerr.
The White Mountain Clay
Busters
sent 22 expert shooters to the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup, the Arizona
youth trap, skeet and sporting clays championships that began on April
13 in Tucson. The event is hosted by Arizona Game and Fish.
The WMCB Varsity Squad of
Talitha Applegate, Tanner Giarrizzo, Ethan Kerr, Georgia Kerr and
Mackayla Riesop placed second in the Senior Varsity Division. In the
Junior Varsity Division, Noelle Basinger, Bridger Garvin, Morgan
Riesop, Nick Terrill and Gage Vandekrol also placed second on April 13.
On April 14, Noelle
Basinger,
Bridger Garvin and Morgan Riesop placed first in the Junior Varsity
Skeet Championship. Basinger won the bronze medal in the Individual
Ladies Junior Varsity Division.
Two weeks later, the Ben
Avery
Clay Target Center in Phoenix hosted the sporting clays competition on
April 27. Designed to simulate wild birds, sporting clay targets come
from every direction and angle.
Georgia Kerr landed
squarely at
the top of the podium, taking gold in the Ladies’ Senior Varsity
Division. Her varsity squad took gold as well with the help of Ethan
Kerr and Tanner Giarrizzo. The WMCB Junior Varsity Squad of Noelle
Basinger, Morgan Riesop and Nicholas Terrill also took gold.
Outstanding individual efforts in sporting clays include James Fawcett,
fourth overall in Men’s Senior Varsity, narrowly missing a spot on the
podium by one target. Joshua Juergens took the gold in Men’s
Intermediate Entry Level Division.
The White Mountain Clay
Busters
are part of the Scholastic Clay Target Program, supported by the White
Mountain Clay Target Club and Arizona Game and Fish Department, with
grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and others. Their season
starts in October and meets every other weekend with smaller
tournaments throughout the season.
Since its inception,
hundreds of
local youths have benefited by learning firearm safety, responsibility,
sportsmanship, self-confidence and teamwork. Clay target shooting
provides a playing field in which boys and girls may compete with
little, if any, ability differences; in 2021, the WMCB Intermediate
Trap Squad consisting of five girls took gold over all the other co-ed
and boys squads in the state.
The volunteer coaching
staff of
Tony Komasa, Tom Johnson, Don Softly and Joe Christopher, as well as
past coaches Mike Thrasher, Greg Schnepp, Chris Lewis and others, puts
in countless hours of time and effort to create this opportunity for
area athletes.
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More Scholastic Clay
Information
____________________________________________________
DONATION
INFORMATION
The White Mountain Clay Targets Club, INC is a 501(c)3
Organization. Volunteer donations are Tax Deductible.
Last Fiscal Year (June 30,2024) we received $12,500 in General
Donations and $4,800 in Road Donations. Donations go a long way
in keeping Membership, Shooting Costs low and help fund the
ClayBusters/SCTP Annual Budget.
Anyone donating will receive a letter stating the amount donated along
with an IRS document showing the tax-exempt status of the White
Mountain Clay Targets Club as a 501 (c)3 organization.
If you decide to Donate, please mail it to:
White Mountain Clay
Targets Club
P.O. Box 234
Pinetop, AZ 85935
Include your preference where the donation should go:
· Club Annual Budget
·
Road Annual Maintenance
·
ClayBusters/SCTP support to Kids
_______________________________________________________
Scholastic Clay Target
Program (SCTP)
History
Beginning
in
2004 the SCTP began in Arizona with the Arizona Game and Fish
Department
(AG&F) serving as the state coordinating body for the 10-12
programs
throughout the state. The state SCTP is
part of a larger national SCTP with groups in 38+
states. The entire SCTP was developed
under an
even larger National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Each
state has
a Coordinator, which in Arizona is the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Only two or three states have a state
department coordinating the state activities. Other
states may have an individual or clubs
coordinate the programs.
The
AG&F
started the SCTP by training coaches, providing 10 youth friendly
shotguns a
small stipend/athlete. This was barely enough founding for 100 practice
rounds/month per athletes. Parents were
required to pay for travel, state shoot fee and other related cost
when
participating at state and national shoots. Most
clubs pursued other supplemental funding.
The
White
Mountain Clay Busters is now funded with AG&F funding, A Midway
Foundation
endowment and a Rocky Mountain Elk grant. These
additional funds have helped assist with the
cost of state and
national shoots. The Clay Busters
athletes are permitted to shoot up to 200 practice rounds/month.
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