HORACE - These North Dakotans are shooting for the stars.
More than 1300 athletes from 50 different schools competed in the 2019 North Dakota High School Clay Target League state tournament.
The West Fargo Packers have been a part of the league and all the state tournaments from the beginning.
The Packers just finished a third season as conference champions in the league.
On Friday June 14, West Fargo won the inaugural skeet shooting competition.
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Since 2016, the number of teams and schools participating has skyrocketed.
"I knew it was going to take off just because of what's happened in Minnesota," said West Fargo head coach Mark Sahli, who's been at the helm for four years. "I thought North Dakota is a hunting state, and there are kids that like to shoot, but it's kind of overwhelmed me, you're like 'oh my god this grew faster than we thought it was going to go.'"
Most athletes are combining their childhood pastimes of hunting with family members with a love to compete.
"We hunt a lot at our farm in Minot and we like shooting," said West Fargo's Bryce Haugeberg. "We saw an opportunity at the high school, and thought we'd give it a try."
Rugby won the team title for the second-consecutive year, finishing with 465 points.
2nd: Bismarck Century - 464 pts.
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3rd: West Fargo - 450 pts.
4th: Grafton - 447 pts.
5th: Minot - 444 pts.
