Melrose finishes clay target season at state

The Melrose Area clay target team finished its season at the Minnesota State High School League Clay Target State Tournament June 23 at Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake.

The Dutchmen had participants in individual and team competition. The team of Ian Funk, Eli Revering, Owen Feldewerd, Zach Coenen and Marshall Dufner scored 465 of 500 possible points, finishing 27th of 40 teams. The participants shot in four rounds of 25 targets. 

The Melrose scores across the four rounds were: Zach Coenen 24-24-24-23-95; Dufner 24-24-20-23-92; Feldewerd 24-25-23-24-96; Funk 23-22-22-25-92; and Revering 22-24-23-21-90. United South Central hit 484 to take first place. Runners-up Fairmont, third-place Roseau and fourth-place Wayzata scored a 482. 

In the individual contest, Jack Ellering, Trevor Thom and Jake Feldewerd competed in a field of 100 individuals. Jack Ellering, with rounds of 24-25-24-22, scored a 95 and tied for 58th. Thom’s 23-22-23-23-91 tied him for 81st; and Jake Feldewerd earned 98th with 20-20-20-23-83. There was three-way tie for first, as Alex Krska of East Ridge, Mason Meyer of Spring Lake Park and Zale Bushlack of United South Central hit all 100 targets.

Jack Ellering, Dufner, Owen Feldewerd and Funk earned patches for perfect rounds of 25. 

The team qualified for the MSHSL state tournament with its shooting June 19 at the 2023 Trapshooting Championship in Alexandria. That tournament, unlike the MSHSL tournament, is open to any high school shooter in the state.

“At the championship shoot in Alexandria, Ian Funk tied for seventh varsity male with a 98 out of 100,” said Cory Ellering, head coach. “As a team, we tied for fourth out of 20 on the day with a 478. This score placed us 27th overall against all 343 teams in the entire state.”

The Dutchmen’s top five scores in Alexandria were a 98 from Funk and 95s from Revering, Turner Beuning, Owen Feldewerd and Dan Frericks. Frericks and Beuning were unable to attend, with Zach Coenen and Dufner representing Melrose in their place. Jayden Coenen and Jack Ellering served as alternates. 

No Lady Dutchmen qualified for the MSHSL shoot, nor did Melrose qualify a girls team for state in the first year of a girls-only MSHSL tournament. Kira Wolf of Detroit Lakes shot a 99 to win the girls state title. 

The state meet concluded a successful season for Melrose. Besides its state appearance, the team finished first in Conference 8A, as Ellering, Thom and Owen Feldewerd took 1-2-3 individually. Kaylee Ellering earned runner-up honors among the girl shooters. Throughout the season, Melrose shooters set high levels of marksmanship.

“I can’t even count how many 25 straight we had this year,” Coach Ellering said. “We also had several 50 straight and a couple 75 straight.” 

Those hits led to solid placements. Some occurred at Del-Tone Shooting Range in St. Cloud, as Melrose competed in a 14-school varsity pool in the Del-Tone 100, placing eighth. It sent 10 shooters to that contest. 

In the Alexander Nathan Vogel Indelible Legacy Foundation shoot May 8 at Del-Tone, Melrose took first place, hitting 480 of 500 targets. Morgan Housmann earned first place and Ben Feldewerd second in their respective divisions.