Eight are All-State Shooters; Repeat Crowns for ‘Canes, Cougars

Both Mabel-Canton and Houston claimed conference championships during the 2026 spring high school trap season. Rushford-Peterson, Kingsland and LeRoy-Ostrander were runners-up in their respective clay target conferences while Spring Grove had a third-place campaign. It was a third straight league title for Hurricanes. The Cougars have won two straight and four of their last five spring championships.

R-P sophomore Colton Ronnenberg tied with the second-best individual scoring average in the state; only one other Minnesota shooter had a better season average and had to be perfect to do so. Ronnenberg was one of the top five out of 10,490 school-age trap athletes. The state’s top 100 averages (top 1%) earn All-state acclaim. Eight of Minnesota’s 100 best were from Journal-area teams, including four from Rushford-Peterson, three from Mabel-Canton and one from Spring Grove.Their average score is calculated after the five-week conference season.

 

 

With a 25.00 average being perfect, Ronnenberg (almost perfect 24.90) was tied for second, Trojan teammate junior Chace Drazkowski (24.10) tied for 34th. Mabel-Canton seniors Shawn Swenson and Kale Tollefsrud as well as Spring Grove sophomore Tyler Turner each averaging 24.10, tied for 42nd. R-P sophomore Tanner Thesing (24.00) tied for 51st. Trojan sophomore Maxwell Finley (23.90) and M-C sophomore Carter Hershberger (23.90) tied for 68th – again, out of 10,490 shooters.

Rushford-Peterson was likely the best runner-up in the state. The hot-firing Trojans, who might have won most conferences, did not win the championship of Class 3A-Conference 1, by quirk of fate, having been placed in the same conference as Ortonville, which had four of the six top-scoring shooters in the state – regardless of class. Likewise, the only individual with a better average than Ronnenberg was Ortonville’s Hunter Zahn with a perfect 25.00 average.

Unlike other high school sports organized only by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), high school clay target or trap teams are organized by the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League (MSHCTL) into nine classes, depending on the number of shooters registered rather than school enrollment. The teams with fewest shooters compete in Class 1A, teams with the most shooters in Class 9A. Then, for regular-season competition, each class is divided into conferences. Geography is not a consideration with each team shooting at its own home range. Nearly half, five of the 11 Journal-area squads, competed in Class 2A this spring. With their being six conferences in that class, it was a rare occurrence that four Journal-area teams – Grand Meadow, Lanesboro, LeRoy-Ostrander and Fillmore Central – were grouped together in the same conference (Class 2A-Conference 6) along with teams from Duluth, St. Cloud, New Ulm and Mountain Lake.

There is also a fall season with only conference competition, no playoffs. Only four Journal-area teams competed in the 2025 autumn action with LeRoy-Ostrander, Springs Grove and Mabel-Canton each finishing as a conference runner-up and Kingsland placing third.

The next competition is the annual state championship event at Alexandria where teams and individuals compete against all of those in the state within their class for an overall class championship. With more than 350 high school teams and over 8,000 athletes, it takes nine days (starting June 15) with a day devoted to each class. The overall best-scoring 40 teams advance to the final state tournament sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) on June 26. The aforementioned top 100 all-state individuals have already qualified for the individual portion of the MSHSL finale. There is also an annual national championship tournament in July.

Houston was a three-peat champion, this year among nine teams in Class 1A-Conference 4, coached for the 11th year by Jon Hibbs. There were 10 Hurricane shooters, nine boys and one girl. Among those 10, there were three sets of siblings.

One third (six) of the league’s top 18 boys were Hurricanes. Junior Elijah Stinson had the third-best season average of 23.10. Junior Ryan Riederer (22.40) ranked fourth, junior Eliot Frauenkron (22.00) sixth, freshman Justin Riederer (20.70) tied for ninth, sophomore Jason Ulmen (20.20) tied for 16th and sophomore Sedriclee Stinson (20.00) 18th. Eighth grader Chloey Stinson (12.80) ranked eighth among the conference’s 11 girls. Seven Houston shooters will compete at Alexandria.

Mabel-Canton won Class 4A-Conference 4 with veteran head coach Logan Henry guiding a roster of 28 boys, four girls. The aforementioned three All-State boys plus eight teammates made 11 Cougars among the top 25 boys, including four of the top five. All-State Shawn Swenson (24.10) and Kale Tollefsrud (24.10) were two of the three tied for the top spot. All-State Carter Hershberger (23.90) was fourth. Junior Hunter Kelly (23.40) placed seventh, junior Ike Tweten (23.20) eighth. Senior Milton Hutchinson, junior Lane Loch and freshman Duke Soiney tied for 11th, each at 22.90. Sophomore Reid Liddiard (22.80) was 15th, sophomore Mason Swenson (22.60) placed 18th and sophomore Gage Hosting (22.50) 20th.

All four Mabel-Canton girls placed among the conference’s top 25, including freshman Lindsey Williams who led all girls with a 21.79 average. Tied for second was freshman Whitney Williams (21.60). Eighth grader Victoria Snyder (20.60) tied for sixth, and eighth grade Lyndin Enright (19.70) tied for 11th. All of this spring’s 32 shooters will continue the season at Alexandria.

Kingsland continued to be be competitive, capturing the second-place trophy among nine squads in Class 2A-Conference 1. Last autumn, the Knights were third in an eight-team race. This spring, Dan Lund was the individual conference champion with an average score of 23.70. The sophomore was one of six Knights among the league’s top 25 boys. Sophomore Bryce Oeltjen (23.40) tied for fourth place while classmate Kellan Slifka (22.40) was eighth. Junior Benjamin Wolfgram (22.00) tied for 15th just ahead of senior Landan Hunemiller (21.80) 19th while seventh grader Eli Fussy (21.50) ranked 24th.

Doug Plaehn, in his 14th season as the Kingsland coach, had 19 shooters, 17 boys and two girls. Both ladies were among the league’s top girls, freshman Lily Wilson (17.70) ranking eighth and senior Brynn Fussy (16.00) 13th. It was a young team with only two seniors. A dozen Knights will be firing at Alexandria.

Rushford-Peterson (runner-up 3A-1) enjoyed an exceptional season with those aforementioned four All-State shooters among the top 11 boys in Class 3A-Conference 1. And senior Avery Kammerer (22.80) was among the conference’s top 25 boys as well. There was only one girl on the 25-Trojan roster; freshman Haylee Eddy (19.20) ranked eighth among all the conference girls. Ten marksmen will compete at Alexandria. There were only two seniors, so 13-year veteran coach Bobby Lind has plenty of firepower retaining eligibility for 2027.

Spring Grove placed third (behind champion M-C) among seven teams in Class 4A-Conference 4. All-State sophomore Tyler Turner (24.10) tied for the top individual ranking and was among four boys in the league’s top 25.  Senior Christian Bjerke (23.60) ranked fifth and sophomore brother Roland Bjerke (23.10) ninth. Senior Karson Betcher (22.50) tied for 20th.

Eight-year veteran coach Christopher Bjerke’s 32-shooter roster includes 11 girls, the most girls among the 11 Journal-area squads.  Eight Lions comprised about a third of the top 25 girls. Senior Mylee Thorson (21.30) ranked fifth, and eighth grader Lynden Morken (20.60) tied for sixth. Senior Callie Petersen (20.10) placed eighth just ahead of freshman Autumn (20.00) tied for ninth. Sophomore Josephine Jaster (19.70) did for 11th while seventh grader Keyera Betcher (19.60) was 13th. Sophomore Lauren Hammel (17.60) ranked 21st and seventh grader Madelyn Amundson (17.20) 25th. Next, 25 Spring Grove shooters are slated to compete at Alexandria.

LeRoy-Ostrander was the runner-up in the 10-team Class 2A-Conference 6 after a runner-up finish in the preceding autumn season. There were 16 Cardinal boys and seven girls. Top scorer, junior Kimberley Volkart (23.50), was also the top girl in the conference and ranked 10th among all girls in the state. Tessa Lewison (22.10) ranked second among conference girls and tied for 23rd among all Minnesota girls. Among conference girls, Vivien Main (19.40) placed eighth and Allison Siskow-Hoefs tied for 11th.

Four Cardinals were among the conference’s top 25 boys, led by seniors Talan Lewison and Logan Drees tied for third at 22.60. Senior Ethan Lunning (22.00) was 13th and senior Max Reburn (21.20) 24th. At Alexandria, L-O will be represented by 17 athletes.

Lanesboro finished fourth in the same 2A- 6 race. Among the loop’s top boys, seniors Jarek Schultz and Boone Moen tied for third place, each with a 22.60 average. There were five Burros boys among the top 25 with junior Trayton McCabe (22.40) tied for seventh, junior Jack Riggott (22.10) tied for 11th and junior Jaden Dahl (21.70) sharing 17th place. Coach Jennifer Roloff was pleased to have several new athletes among the 19 boys and five girls. There are 17 Burros slated to shoot at Alexandria.

Fillmore Central, also in 2A-6, finished sixth – the Falcons’ best finish to date. After graduating a large class of seniors, veteran coach Bill Hanlon had 20 boys and five girls this spring, including three seniors. It was the program’s best-scoring flock of seventh and eighth grade fledgling Falcons. Leading varsity marksman was junior Dreigh Cremer (22.30), who tied for ninth place among the conference’s top 25 boys. Three Falcon females finished among the top 25 girls – eighth grader Taylor Hovey (16.80) tied for 14th, sophomore Lexi Engen (16.30) 17th and sophomore Kendyl Sikkink (15.50) 21st. Eighteen of the 25 Falcons will be firing at Alexandria.

Grand Meadow, after graduating a large group of seniors from a Class 4A team in 2025, competed this year in Class 2A-Conference 6, placing 10th. With a roster of 24 (21 boys, 3 girls), the two leading scorers were veteran junior Megan Owens and eighth grade newcomer Ben Bellrichard. After the retirement of veteran mentor Greg Lamp, new head coach Micah Peterson has 10 Superlark shooters registered to compete at Alexandria.

Chatfield, although dropping down a class, still has the most registered shooters among Journal-area squads. With 38 boys and eight girls, the Gophers placed sixth among nine teams in Class 7A-Conference 1. Leading scorer Sam Ruskell (22.00) was one of a large group of 10 seniors. Three shooters were among the league’s top 25 girls: freshman Ella Whalen (18.40) ranked 22nd, followed by senior Amaya Harmening (17.90) 24th and freshman Libby Rudlong (17.60) 25th. Nine Gophers are scheduled to compete at Alexandria. Mike Lisowki has coached the Chatfield clay target team since its inception in 2014.

Caledonia finished sixth among squads in Class 1A-Conference 7. Four Warriors placed among the loop’s top 14 boys, led by junior Blake Peterson (22.30) in fourth place. Senior Devon Schulte (21.80) ranked eighth, junior Jack Fetketter (21,00) 13th and senior Henry Diersen (20.90) 14th. Among the 17 girls in the conference, freshman Kendall Weichert (12.50) was 12th and eighth grader Morgan Novak (12.00) 13th. Kevin Weichert, one of the founders of the program, coached a roster of 15 this spring, eight of whom will be shooting at Alexandria.