Ronnenberg, Volkart and Spring Grove Team Excel at State Trap Finale

Rushford-Peterson marksman Colton Ronnenberg, LeRoy-Ostrander super shooter Kimberley Volkart and the Spring Grove trap team all earned exceptionally high honors while competing versus the very best in Minnesota’s grand clay target finale on June 26. After tiebreakers, Spring Grove finished fourth among more than 400 teams, and Ronnenberg was state runner-up among more than 7,000 individuals. Volkart placed third among all high school girls in the state.

In partnership with the Minnesota High School Clay Target League (MNSHSCTL), the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is the nation’s only state high school athletic governing body to include trap or clay target shooting. Each year, the MNSHSCTL conducts the regular season and its own state championship tournaments at Alexandria for its nine classes, 1A through 9A. (See accompanying article). Then, the MSHSL conducts a final state championship tournament at Prior Lake that crowns an overall state team and individual champion, regardless of class. Teams qualify for the MSHSL grand finale at the Alexandria class championships, while the individuals had qualified previously during the regular season conference competition.

For the team competition, the MSHSL takes 40 teams from Alexandria – the top three squads in each class plus 13 of the next best team scores. In the separate individual competition, this year out of 11,184 individuals, those (boys or girls) with the 100 highest regular season averages are declared All-State and qualify for Prior Lake. In addition, the state’s top 24 girls also qualify.

Teams

Four of the 11 Journal-area teams qualified for the MSHSL final at Prior Lake. Class 4A state champion Mabel-Canton has qualified for MSHSL State five times in nine years, but this was the first time to advance as a class champion. For Class 3A state champion Rushford-Peterson and Class 2A champion LeRoy-Ostrander, it was the first time to qualify among the state’s top 40 teams. Spring Grove, which qualified this year as the third place team at Class 4A state, is the defending state runner-up at Prior Lake. Amazingly, the Lions have now qualified for MSHSL state in eight of the past 10 years, excluding 2020 when COVID canceled all postseason action.

Only five shooters for each team fired 100 times each. Each squad could have two alternates attending. Spring Grove and Stewartville tied, each hitting 482 of 500 flying clay targets, the third highest total behind state champion Bemidji (487) and runner-up Lakeville South (486). The tiebreaker for third place began with the top scorer for both teams. For both, it was 99 and therefore still tied. The second and third-highest individual scores were identical as well. It took the fourth tiebreaker to finally settle the stalemate. The fourth highest Tiger score was one bird higher than the fourth highest Lion. Stewartville received the third place trophy; there was no fourth place trophy. However, Spring Grove can point with pride with finishing fourth among 420 teams in Minnesota.

Sophomore Izaak Morken led Spring Grove with a career-high 99 out of 100 birds. Adding to the Lion team total were seniors Karson Betcher and Christian Bjerke, each at 97, followed by sophomores All-State Tyler Turner at 95 and Roland Bjerke 94. Alternates were Carter Van Minsel and Logan Hammel. Christopher Bjerke heads the coaching staff.

Mabel-Canton trailed by only two clays at 480 and placed eighth, losing the statistical tiebreaker with seventh place Richfield – Academy of Holy Angels. Firing for the Cougars were: All-State Shawn Swenson 100, All-State Kale Tollefsrud 97, Hunter Kelly 95, All-State Carter Hershberger 94 and Ike Tweten 94. Veteran coach Logan Henry guides the M-C program.

LeRoy-Ostrander placed 30th with a team score of 458. Competing for the Cardinals were: Kimberly Volkart 97, Logan Drees 94, Brayden Schaefer 91, Tessa Lewison 89 and Talan Lewison 87. Brent Dohlman is the Cardinals’ head coach.

Rushford-Peterson finished 33rd at 453. Taking aim for the Trojans were: All-State Colton Ronnenberg 97, All-State Maxwell Finley 93, All-State Chace Drazkowski 92, All-State Tanner Thesing 87 and Avery Kammerer 84. Training the Trojans is veteran mentor Colby Lind.

Individual

Ten Journal-area shooters were among the 115 qualifiers – four from Rushford-Peterson, three from Mabel-Canton, two from LeRoy-Ostrander and one from Spring Grove.  There were two seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and one freshman. All 10 were shooting for the second time that day, having competed that morning during the team competition.

Sophomore Colton Ronnenberg of Rushford-Peterson hit a perfect 100 of 100 soaring clay birds as did two other sophomores, Jack Benedict of Prior Lake and Blaine Graves of Proctor. In previous years, they would have been declared co-champions. All three thought they had finished the day, but for the first time, the 2026 title would be decided by a shoot-off.

Each of the 10th-grade trio would aim at 10 targets from a distance of 20 yards. If they remained tied, they would move back to the 24-yard mark for another 10 attempts. Ronnenberg and Graves each were perfect again, 10 for 10. Benedict missed one and was awarded the third place medal.

Graves and Ronnenberg continued farther back. Graves took the title by hitting nine targets while Ronnenberg  blasted seven clay birds. “Really, the only preparation you can do is take deep breaths and clear your mind,” Graves told a MSHSL reporter.

Ronnenberg said, “You can’t think too much, or it will stress you out.”

It was another tiebreaker for senior Shawn Swenson of Mabel-Canton, who with a near-perfect score of 99, was in a six-shooter tie for places fourth through ninth. The statistical tiebreaker placed the Cougar sophomore in ninth place among 91 boys. There were medals for the top eight. Despite an excellent performance, Swenson was a hair’s-breadth away from a medal.

One bird black at 98, Spring Grove sophomore Tyler Turner was tied among a dozen shooters for places 10th through 21st. The tiebreaker placed him 13th. Again one clay target back at 97, Mabel-Canton sophomore Carter Hershberger was in a 15-way tie for places 22nd through 36th. The statistical tiebreaker placed him 33rd.

Rushford Peterson sophomore Maxwell Finley connected with 94 soaring clays, tied among 13 athletes for places 51st through 63rd. After the tiebreaker, Finley finished 53rd. R-P teammates, junior Chace Drazkowski and sophomore Tanner Thesing, both hit 90 clay targets in a three way tie. The tiebreaker placed Drazkowski 80th and Thesing 82nd.

Mabel-Canton senior Kale Tollefsrud blew apart 89 clays in a five-way tie for places 83rd through 87th. With the tiebreaker, he placed 86th among the state’s very best.

Among Minnesota’s top 24 girls at MSHSL state, LeRoy-Ostrander junior Kimberly Volkart hit 98 of 100 clay birds to earn the third place medal, just one clay short of the state champion. Cardinal teammate, freshman Tessa Lewison, connected with 92 airborne targets. Winning the two-way tiebreaker, she placed 17th.