All of that experience helped the soon-to-be Tonganoxie High senior become the first THS trap club team member to compete at nationals.

Bennett competed July 12-13 at the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship in Mason, Michigan.

He finished 62nd out of 400 in the finals and was one of 1,800 to compete overall. To qualify for nationals, a competitor must have a certain average in the spring season of 19 or better out of 25 shots. Competitions normally consist of various rounds of 25.

Bennett had a spring average of 23.

USACTL then takes the first 1,800 nationwide who meet the qualifying criteria.

Bennett connected on a whopping 98 out of 100 shots in the finals, including a streak of 75 straight. His previous best was 50.

“I wasn’t too surprised,” Wyatt said about his performance at nationals. “I aways knew I could do it. All you have to do is listen to your coach and do what (Tony) Maurer tells me and take your time.”

Maurer is the head coach for the trap club team, which got established in the spring of 2022. There are fall and spring seasons for the Kansas league.

“I was just really impressed,” Maurer said about Bennett’s performance at nationals. “He went up there and handled himself under pressure.

“I know he put a lot of weight on his shoulders to do good. As much as everyone told him to go have fun, you could tell he was just in the mindset he could do the best he could to represent Tonganoxie and honor all the hard work everyone put in to get him up there.”

Clay shooting can get expensive, and as a club sport, costs are met solely through donations and fundraisers.

Arron Bennett, who is Wyatt’s father and an assistant coach, was appreciative of the community’s support for the team and for Wyatt.

Justin Barker, an assistant coach who Arron and Maurer both referred to as the “gun guru,” operates Firewater Lounge, a whiskey and cigar bar in downtown Tonganoxie, as well as FDA Coatings. Firewater Lounge had a fundraiser for the team a few months ago. A few weeks ago, County Road Brewing held another fundraiser specifically for Wyatt’s trip to Michigan.

“That really really helped out a lot,” Arron said. “I’m guessing we spent close to $450 in ammo. Every penny was donated.”

Out-of-pocket costs can be a challenge for the local trap shoot team participants’ families. Each season can cost about $650 for shells and shooting. It’s also $10 for each round at the shooting range near the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds. Team members average four rounds a week during the seasons.

Arron said the group continues to work with the community for sponsorships and donations so that the sport can reach more THS students.
”If they can’t afford it, we want them to afford it and not feel left out,” Arron said.

Wyatt placed 16th at state as a sophomore and 48th as a junior this past season at state.

“I just kind of picked it up then,” Bennett said. “I had hunted before, but never had done clay shooting.”

Asked about what was going through his mind as his streak continued to grow, Wyatt said just focusing on the next shot each time.

“I don’t really thing about it too much,” Wyatt said. “I just see the bird out in the field. If you think too much, you’re going to get in your head and not be on your best game.”

Maurer emphasized how good of a shot Wyatt is at such a young age, especially hitting 75 in a row.

For instance, he explained how he’s chatted with friends who have done trap shooting on corporate retreats. They shooting 45s and 50s out of 50 on average.

“They feel like they’re pretty good shots and it still blows their minds,” Maurer said.

The success with the trap shooting is leading to potential opportunities at the collegiate level. Wyatt said he’s had a few offers to compete at the next level. Some have been in Kansas, such as McPherson College and as far away as some in Illinois.

Wyatt placing 62nd with a 98 showed just how impressive his performance was. The top shooter at 98 took 59th. Wesley Morehouse of Groton Area High School in South Dakota nabbed that spot with the reverse run tiebreaker. He had 98 in a row.

Nicholas Coppage won the individual title with a perfect score of 100. He won the shoot-off by 1 shot. Taking second was Owen Kalma of St. James Academy down the road in Lenexa.

Kansas was well-represented in the finals.

Fellow Kansans who shot a perfect 100 were Logan Milleman of Bishop Carroll in Wichita who placed ninth and Anthony Kamer of St. James Academy (18th). There were 21 total who shot 100 out of 100.

Rock Creek’s Adam McKinney placed 26th (99 with 99 reverse run), Riley County’s Martin Loecker was 31st (99/80), Rock Creek’s Devin Helmet 39th (99/46) Cedar Vale-Dexter’s Brody McCoy 48th (99/29) Ottawa’s Parker Dryden 56th (99/7) and Chaparral’s Levi Longbine 58th (99/5).

Other assistant coaches on Tonganoxie’s team are Jacob Earhart, Bryce Atchison and Lisa Patterson.

Maurer refers to Patterson as the “team manager.”

“She makes sure we’re where we need to be when we need to be,” Maurer said. “She’s like the team mom.”

More youths generally compete in the spring because of conflicts with other sports and activities in the fall, according to Maurer. And as was noted previously, costs can provide sticker shock. But Maurer and Arron both reiterated how thankful they were to have the support of the community, businesses, friends and family in financially supporting the club.

The THS coach is excited for the future, especially with Wyatt blazing a trail to nationals.

“He’s a very unique kid,” Maurer said. “Very dedicated, very driven.

“Just a great personality and going to be a very good role model to move forward with the team and getting younger kids coached up. It’s almost better to have peer coach help with adult coaches. “He’s just an impressive kid.”

Arron hopes Wyatt will get another shot at nationals.

“It gets pretty expensive to do this, but we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Arron said. “If Wyatt has the chance to do it next year, we are going to make the trip again.”