Going five-deep with balance is the key to winning an Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Regional.
Bentonville West Trap Team 1 had plenty of it in winning the West Senior Regional by four shots May 18 at the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation Jacksonville Shooting Sports Complex.
While West 1 had no perfect shooter and only one, Ryan Thurber, with 49 of 50, the winning squad had no score lower than 43 and bunched three other shooters in the 46-47 range to total 231 out of 250.
Spencer Bittle hit 47 targets, Aaron Zachary and Wyatt Zachary both were 46-for-50, and Noah Sost had the 43. Thurber missed his fifth attempt of the day, then reeled off 45 targets in a row.
The Accuracy in Motion Minutemen, led by Bri Sanderson's perfect 50, took second place at 227, one target in front of Accuracy in Motion Squad 2.
Billy Butler of Green Forest Tigers 1 was the other perfect score for the day, and he and Sanderson will join three other seniors in the Champion of Champions shoot-off Saturday, immediately following the 64-team head-to-head competition in tournament bracket play to determine the senior state championship team.
Teams will shoot 25 shots per five-person team member in each round, with higher score advance. The winning team has to win six matchups. Teams are seeded based on their regional finish.
Sports on 05/28/2019