Houston and Kingsland were both repeat champions, joined this spring by Lanesboro and Mabel-Canton, all four winning clay target/trap shooting conference crowns. Spring Grove was conference runner-up; Rushford-Peterson and LeRoy-Ostrander each finished fourth. Thus, seven of 11 Journal-area schools finished among the top half of their conference.
Three area shooters earned All-State credentials, ranking among the top 100 among Minnesota’s 10,866 registered shooters (top 1%). Rankings were based on average scores over the five-week conference season. Lanesboro senior Holdyn Willford is All-State for a second consecutive season, tied for fourth in Minnesota with an average of 24.70 out of a perfect 25.00. Spring Grove junior Christian Bjerke (24.00) tied for 58th; Kingsland senior Cameron Miner (23.90) tied for 73rd.
High school clay target teams in Minnesota are divided into nine classes (Class 1A through Class 9A) depending on the number of shooters registered rather than school enrollment. Then each class is divided into conferences. Participation is strong; five teams went up at least one class.
Houston claimed a second straight Class 1A title, this year in Conference 3. Seven Hurricane boys ranked among the top 25 in a nine-team league, including half of the top eight. Elliot Frauenkron (23.10) ranked third with (All-State 2024) Justin Riederer (22.60) fourth, Ryan Riederer (22.10) seventh and Elijah Stinson (21.50) eighth. Sedriclee Stinson (20.00) was 13th while Jason Ulmen (19.70) tied for 16th and Cooper Ackman (17.70) 25th. Frauenkron has been top 25 for three years, J. Riederer, E. Stinson, S. Stinson and Ackman the past two years. Head coach Jon Hibbs again guided the clay target ‘Canes.
Mabel-Canton has won a conference championship in three of the last four spring seasons plus last fall’s abbreviated season title. After a runner-up finish in the spring of 2024, Coach Logan Henry’s Cougars captured the 2025 crown in eight-team Class 4A, Conference 3.
Among 33 Cougars, five finished among the league’s top 25 boys and also five among the top 25 girls. Sophomore Hunter Kelly (23.30) ranked third among conference boys, freshman Mason Swenson (23.00) tied for eighth and sophomore Ike Tweeten (22.90) finished 10th. (All-State 2024) Shawn Swenson (22.70) tied for 13th and Gage Hosting (22.00) tied for 24th. Swenson was top 25 for the fourth straight season. It was also a repeat Top 25 finish for Kelly and Tweeten.
(All-State 2024, 2023) Saijal Slafter (22.90) was the top-ranked conference girl as she was in 2023 with a runner-up ranking in 2024. Eighth grader Lindsey Williams (20.70) finished fourth, Samantha Williams (20.50) eighth, Victoria Snyder (19.20) 13th and eighth grader Whitney Williams (18.60) 16th. It was a third straight top 25 finish for Slafter, Samantha Williams and Whitney Williams. It was a second consecutive achievement for Lindsey Williams and Snyder.
Lanesboro won nine-team Class 2A, Conference 4. All-State Willford (24.70) repeated as the league’s top-scoring boy among the Burros’ seven top 25 boys. Lanesboro lads comprised half of the top six. Sophomore Trayton McCabe (23.20) tied for fourth, senior William Miller (23.10) ranked sixth. Jarek Schultz (22.40) and Liam Miller (22.40) tied for 13th with Jaden Dahl (22.00) 17th and Beau Lacey (21.40) 22nd. Willford, Schultz and McCabe have each been top 25 for three years, W. Miller two of the past three years.
Jennifer Roloff coached 21 shooters, including five girls, four of whom were among the top 25 girls. Senior Taylor Hanson (18.00) ranked seventh, Hailey Erickson 13th, eighth grader Addison McCabe 17th and Mikenna Halvorson 21st. Hanson has been top 25 the last three years, Erickson for two of the past three.
Kingsland moved up two classes to Class 3A, Conference 4, but still claimed back-to-back league titles. Among nine-teams, eight of the top 25 boys were Knights, including half of the top 10. All-State Cameron Miner (23.90) ranked third, senior Orrin Sovers (23.50) sixth, freshman Kellan Slifka (23.20) eighth, Blake Oeltjen (23.10) ninth and Bryce Oeltjen (23.00) 10th. Tied for 12th were Caden Reiter and Marek Boysen, both at 22.70. Daniel Lund (22.00) ranked 19th. Boysen and Blake Oeltjen have been top 25 the past four seasons. Miner has earned the acclaim for three years, Slifka and Reiter for two straight seasons.
Brynn Fussy (15.20) has been a top 25 girl for the last three years, this season ranked 18th along with 21st-ranked Lily Wilson. Doug Plaehn has been the coach ever since founding the program.
Spring Grove also jumped two classes to Class 4A, Conference 5. The Lions finished second among seven squads, closing with the league’s best team score in the final week. Six Grove guys placed among the top 25 boys. All-State Christian Bjerke (24.00) tied for third while (2023 All-State) Garrett Waldenberger (23.60) tied for fifth with Roland Bjerke (22.80) 14th, Tyler Turner (22.70) 15th, Caleb Eiken (22.60) 16th and Izaak Morken (21.70) 23rd. Christian Bjerke and Waldenberger have been top 25 for the past three years; Eiken for two of the past three seasons. Coach Christopher Bjerke had a roster of 34 with 25 boys, nine girls.
Six Lions ranked among the top 25 girls, including three of the top four. Junior Mylee Thorson (20.70) placed second, while eighth grader Autumn Petersen (20.30) and freshman Lauren Hammel (20.30) tied for third. Callie Petersen (18.60) tied for eighth; Josephina Jaster was 19th and Lynden Morken 23rd. Thorson, Callie Petersen and Autumn Petersen have been top 25 girls for three straight seasons, Jaster for two of the last three years.
Rushford-Peterson, in Class 4A, conference 1, finished fourth among seven teams, not far behind third-place Detroit Lakes but decisively ahead of fifth-place Albert Lea. The Trojans had a strong finish with the league’s best team score in final-week 5. Coach Colby Lind’s roster included 29 boys, one girl. Six Trojans finished among the conference’s top 25 boys. Colton Ronnenberg and Gibson Darr each averaged 23.20 to tie for seventh. Domanick Corcoran (22.60) ranked 16th, Ryan McNeill (22.40) 20th, Levi Kamerer (22.20) 24th and Tanner Thesing (22.10) tied for 25th. Ronnenberg, Corcoran, Mc Neill and Kamerer were all top 25 in 2024 as well.
LeRoy-Ostrander finished fourth among six squads in Class 2A, conference 6. Brent Dohlman mentored 23 Cardinals with 16 boys, seven girls. Talan Lewison (23.40) ranked 15th among league boys, his fourth straight top 25 season. All seven girls ranked in the top 25; Kimberly Volkart (22.60) was fifth while Vivien Main (20.90) and Kendra Groth (20.90) tied for seventh. Tessa Lewison (19.80) ranked 10th, Audrey Main 13th, Allison Siskow-Hoefs 14th and Victoria Knode 17th. Volkart, V. Main, Groth, Lewison and Knode have been top 25 for three years.
Chatfield competed in Class 8A, Conference 1 with a roster of 42 boys, 14 girls, a young squad with only five seniors. Mike Lisowski’s Gophers finished fifth among seven teams. Freshman Maxwell Finley ranked third among conference boys, averaging 23.30, his second top 25 season. He was joined by sophomore Zach Whalen (23.00) tied for ninth and junior Brody Whalen (22.40) who finished 21st. Two Gophers were among the top 25 girls: Amaya Harmening (18.60) tied for 20th and Rachel Johnson (18.00) tied for 23rd.
Caledonia, with 16 boys and three girls for Coach Kevin Weichert, placed sixth among 10 teams in Class 1A, Conference 11. Among top 25 girls were Lilly Novak (18.00) for the second year, this spring in sixth place, followed by Morgan Novak 20th and Kendall Weichert 22nd.
Grand Meadow finished eighth among eight teams in Class 4A, Conference 3 as did Fillmore Central in Class 5A, conference 1. Both Greg Lamp’s Superlarks and Bill Hanlon’s 36 Falcons, including five girls, added enough shooters to move up a class. Top 25 girls for GM were Megan Owens (19.80) 11th and Alyssa Peterson (18.90) 14th. For FC, Olivia Whalen (14.20) ranked 21st in her third top 25 season; Kendyl Sikkink placed 23rd.
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