PEKIN, Ill. – Illinois 4-H recently held their statewide competitions in archery and shotgun for their teenage 4-H members that wanted to measure their mastery against their peers.
4-H Shooting Sports Teen Ambassador, Alex Paul of Wayne County 4-H, attended both events and finished in 1st place at the shotgun trap shooting competition. “The 2024 Illinois 4-H State Shooting competitions were amazing experiences for everyone involved,” says Alex. “Not only did youth get to exhibit their skills, but as an Ambassador I got the privilege of seeing the connections made between youth, parents, coaches, and volunteers, showing how the Illinois 4-H Shooting Sports program can bring us all together.”
The archery competition was held on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Pekin Archers in Pekin, Illinois and included recurve bow and compound bow divisions. Archers competed in 3-D, Field, and FITA shooting and the top four senior level scores were posted by Isaac and Ethan Mohr of Henderson County 4-H, Tate Sundberg of LaSalle County 4-H, and Jake Glasgow of Brown-Schuyler 4-H. LaSalle County 4-H took the prize of having the top scoring team.
The shotgun competition was held on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Brittany Shooting Park near Bunker Hill, Illinois and included shooting 100 rounds of trap. Finishing second through fourth behind Alex Paul were Jakeb Paul of Wayne County, Benaiah Bremer of Madison County, and Henry Reid of Adams County. Adams County 4-H took the bragging rights of having four shotgun scores from their county totaling the highest of any county team.
SOURCE & WRITER: Curt Sinclair, Extension Specialist – 4-H Shooting Sports and Environmental Ed, University of Illinois Extension, sinclair@illinois.edu
About Illinois 4-H: Illinois 4-H is the flagship youth development program of University of Illinois Extension and administered through the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. 4-H grows true leaders, youth who are empowered for life today and prepared for a career tomorrow. The hands-on approach in 4-H gives young people guidance, tools, and encouragement, and then puts them in the driver’s seat to make great things happen. Independent research confirms the unparalleled impact of the 4-H experience, demonstrating that young people are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.