12 members of Concordia’s Shotgun Team had a huge showing at this year’s FFA State Shotgun Tournament. The 17th Annual Ag Clays State Tournament was held on June 2-4, 2024 at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, TX.
The State competition included shooters from 30 different FFA programs across Texas. Concordia was the only private school to compete in all four of the shooting disciplines (Sporting Clays, Super Sporting, Trap, and Doubles Trap). The Crusaders had a team entry for 10 of the 12 total events (Male, Female, and Mixed for the four disciplines) as well as several individual entries.
Concordia’s Shotgun team had an impressive three days having claimed a banner (a top 5 finish) in seven of the 12 events! This is the most in school history earned at the FFA State Shotgun Championships. This shows the depth of talent Concordia brings to San Antonio being able to shoot multiple disciplines.
The Crusaders finished tied for the top school with the most banners at State (seven) with Poth FFA. Close behind were three larger public schools in Barbers Hill FFA (UIL 5A school with 2,000 students), Calallen FFA (UIL 4A school with 1,200 students), and Smithson Valley FFA (UIL 5A school with 2,300 students) who each finished with six banners. Of the 30 schools at the competition, half of them did not earn a banner (top 5 finish) in any of the 12 events.
This year, two new disciplines were added to the competition in Doubles Trap and Super Sporting. Concordia was only able to practice Doubles Trap for three days leading up to the competition and they faired well in the Mixed Doubles Trap event as State Runner-Up! In Super Sporting, all three teams (Mixed, Female, and Male) brought home banners with top 5 placements finishing 1st, 3rd, and 4th respectively.
Super Sporting Clays
Super Sporting Clays is similar to sporting clays but there are usually 3 target throwers (traps) at each station. The targets are attempted as three singles, and then a report of the a/b, b/c, a/c targets or true pairs or combinations of those. There is a menu card at each shooting station which lists the targets to be shot in the order they should be shot in.
- Concordia’s Mixed Super Sporting team enjoyed the new challenge and finished atop the field of 13 teams with a score of 284/300! Noah Calub ’25, Gage Pattavina ’24, Blythe Brooks ’24, and Tyler Jeansonne ’24 shot incredibly well all with scores over 93 targets hit. Brooks’ 93 was the 4th highest Female score in Super Sporting on the day. Calub’s 96 was T-6th in Super Sporting Males, with Pattavina finishing T-8th with a 95, and Jeansonne’s 93 gave him T-16th. This was the second State Title for Pattavina and Calub who were part of Concordia’s Male Trap team that won state in 2023.
- The Lady Crusader’s Female Super Sporting team finished in 3rd place out of seven teams with a score of 247, only 7 targets behind the state champ. Brooks led the way shooting 93, followed by Emily Smith ’24 hitting 79, Rivers Lee ’25 shooting 75, and alternate Carys Driskill ’26 with a 70.
- The Crusaders Male Super Sporting team also claimed a banner finishing in 4th place out of 16 teams. Calub’s 96/100 led the way for the team followed by Drew Pali ’25 and James Brill ’27 who both shot 91 and Aiden Kleb ’27 served as the alternate with a 75. The team total was 278, only 8 targets away from 1st place. All four members of the team will return next season and will look to improve their placement.
Doubles Trap
Doubles Trap is similar to trap shooting, but more difficult as shooters must hit two targets simultaneously. The targets are released in pairs from an underground bunker and they travel at different heights and angles. The shooter stands 16 yards behind the bunker and can take one shot at each target. The targets usually follow set paths and the challenge is to hit both before they hit the ground. Each target is scored individually, not as a pair.
- Concordia’s Mixed Doubles Trap team did an excellent job at state given they only had three days to practice the discipline leading up to the event. The team of Calub, Pattavina, Jeansonne, and Brooks finished as State Runner-Up out of 10 teams with a score of 247, only 2 targets behind 1st. Team scores included Calub – 86, Pattavina – 85, Jeansonne – 79, and Brooks – 76.
Given the shortness of preparation, the Crusaders did not have entries into the Male Doubles Trap or Female Doubles Trap events and will look to compete in those in the future.
Sporting Clays
- Concordia’s Female Sporting Clays Team of Brooks, Smith, and Driskill with alternate Lee claimed 5th out of 9 teams and brought home a banner with a score of 227. Brooks’ score of 91 was 11 targets higher than her 2023 total and earned her 6th overall out of the 52 female sporting clays shooters.
- The Crusader’s Mixed Sporting Clays Team of Brooks, Calub, and Jeansonne also claimed 5th out of 17 teams and brought home a banner with a score of 271. Calub shot 92, Brooks hit 91, and Jeansonne shot 88.
- Concordia’s Male Sporting Clays Team of ended up 11th out of 24 teams with a score of 264. The Crusaders also finished 11th in 2023 but with a score of only 250 which shows the level of competition has risen across the state. Pattavina led the way with 91, Carson Miller ’25 shot an 88 in his only event that he could attend due to district FFA officer duties, followed by Brill’s 85 and Pali serving as the alternate with 75.
Trap
- Concordia’s Mixed Trap team claimed a banner with their 4th place finish out of 22 teams with a score of 275. The team consisted of Calub’s 94, Jeansonne’s 91, Brooks’ 90, and Pattavina’s 89 serving as alternate. This was a huge improvement compared to last year when the team finished in 9th at State and only shot 258. Brooks and Jeansonne were both on that team and were thankful to end with a banner in their senior season.
- The Crusader’s Male Trap Team of Calub, Pali, Kleb, and Brill couldn’t match last year’s state championship but still finished in 6th place out of 26 teams with a score of 266. Calub was the top male finisher for Concordia in Trap as he tied for 7th out of 157 male shooters with his score of 94. Pali shot 89, Kleb hit 83, and Brill served as the alternate with 76.
- Concordia’s Female Trap Team of Brooks, Lee, Smith, and Driskell were 1 target away from another banner as they finished 6th out of 10 teams earning a second banner with a score of 241. Brooks was the top female finisher for the Crusaders in Trap as she came in T-4th overall out of 59 female trap shooters with her score of 90. Lee tied for 18th in Female Trap by shooting 82 while Emily Smith shot a 69 and Driskill served as the alternate with 61.
------------
Over the course of the two-day event, three male Crusaders had excellent High Overall (HOA) finishes. Calub placed 7th HOA out of 160 male shooters (8th HOA Overall) by hitting 368 targets out of the 400 pulled. Pattavina finished his shooting career for Concordia 11th HOA Male shooting 360. Jeansonne also concluded his high school campaign as 16th HOA Male with a 351. Pattavina and Jeansonne were also 12th HOA Overall and 19th HOA Overall respectively.
On the female side of the competition, Brooks finished her high school career for Concordia as 4th HOA Female (20th HOA Overall) by shooting 93 in Super Sporting Clays, 91 in Sporting Clays, 90 in Trap, and 76 in Doubles Trap for a total of 350.
Having four of the top 20 overall shooters at a statewide competition with this many schools is a major reason why Concordia earned so many top 5 banners.
One of Concordia’s Shotgun Coaches and FFA Chapter Advisors, Ms. Raylea Underwood had this to say following the state competitions: “I cannot express how proud I am of the individuals that represented Concordia FFA at the state shotgun tournament this year. They battled in the scorching heat and still put up some impressive scores. Their hard work and dedication throughout the year paid off when it truly counted. It is honestly going to be so hard to replace the seniors that are a vital part of this program, they are going to be greatly missed!”
To learn more about Concordia’s Agriculture programs and extra-curricular opportunities, visit: www.SaderNationTX.com/agriculture
Concordia is one of the few private high schools in the State of Texas to offer a full Agriculture Sciences program.
2024 State FFA Shotgun Official Results: https://www.iclays.com/scores/scores12297.html