Sophomore Porter Bruce may have had a good night on the shooting range, but his hat sure didn’t.
As per the Cardinal Clays’ team tradition, when a team member shoots their first perfect 25/25 round, they are treated with having their hat thrown in the air and shot by all the team’s trapshooters. Bruce must also wear the hat to the next practice.
Even though his hat has a few holes in it now, Bruce was feeling good after his perfect round.
“I’m proud of myself,” Bruce said. “I’m really glad I came out here and shot tonight. It’s nice to be back out here with the team.”
Bruce’s perfect round came during the Cardinal Clays’ first competition of the fall season at the Cedar Hill Gun Club in Baldwin Wednesday night.
The team is looking to build off the success they had last season when they took first place in their conference.
But head coach Caleb Lewis said the team has their sights set on even higher goals.
“I think everybody that competes’ ultimate goal is to be that one, to be that state champion,” Lewis said. “The ultimate goal is to have our team, if we have enough get selected and chosen to go to nationals, have that team place at nationals.”
As the team enters its seventh season, the Cardinal Clays have 24 members on the team.
Lewis said he is excited about having a large team that is also young.
“Several of the kids that made nationals last year are only sophomores and juniors this year,” Lewis said. “I think a little over a fourth of our team is freshmen, which is amazing. Hopefully we will have them for four years and watch them build and grow.”
Lewis said about a fourth of the team is female as well.
Wednesday’s competition marked a bittersweet moment for senior members on the team as it was the beginning of the end for them.
“It’s one of those things where it’s like you’re kind of sad that it’s going to come to an end as soon as it does,” Preston Bruce said. “But thankfully, we got spring season to go ahead and do our best.”
Preston Bruce shot two rounds over 20 during the competition.
Porter Bruce said a goal for him and his brother this season is to go to nationals together to make their parents happy.
“Our parents just thought it’d be really cool this year if both of us went to nationals because it’s his senior year and if I just went along, too, it’d just be better for them to watch me shoot and watch him shoot. We’d just be shooting together,” Porter Bruce said.
Senior Lane Hadley said his goal for the season is to shoot more 25/25 rounds and help the team get first place in their conference for back-to-back seasons along with doing better at state and nationals.
“If we can get a full team at nationals and shoot pretty good, it’d be pretty nice,” Hadley said.
Hadley hit 22 targets in his first round and 21 in his second round during the competition.
At the end of the day though, Hadley said he loves just being a part of the Cardinal Clays and having fun on the shooting range with his teammates.
“When you come out here, it don’t matter who you are, what you are, you can come out here and shoot,” he said.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]
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