ORANGEBURG The York County 4-H Hotshots competition team placed second in the state in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) State Trap Championships held Saturday, March 1 at Mid Carolina Gun Club in Orangeburg.
A month earlier, six members of the Hotshots team scored well enough at qualifiers on Saturday, February 1 in Orangeburg to compete in the state championship.
Twelfth graders Caroline Crooke and Colton McKinney; 11th graders A.J. Dover and Evans Hall; 8th grader Coen Mays and 7th grader Turner Hope then represented the team in the state championships.
The Hotshots are the competitive members of the York County 4-H Hotshots and Natural Resources Club. They attend competitions throughout the state year-round.
The Hotshots’ combined team scores of 446 placed the team second in the state behind Lewisville with 448 and ahead of the Crescent Elite Shooters who placed third with 443 points.
Crooke placed first in Varsity Senior Ladies and first in 12th Grade Ladies with an individual score of 92 points. She was awarded a $500 scholarship for her efforts.
Crooke says that “shooting offers you so much more than shooting. I’ve gained better communication skills, leadership skills, and learned how to perform in high stress situations.”
She also says that to shoot you must have a good attitude and you shouldn’t be angry about your scores because they aren’t the most important thing–the safety of yourself and others is.
Dover placed second in Senior Varsity with an individual score of 95 points behind John Carlisle of Greenville’s Shell Shockers who placed first with 97 points. Dover also earned the third highest overall individual score in the championship.
When asked about his favorite part of being on the team, Dover didn’t hesitate.
“It would have to be the camaraderie and the sportsmanship, and that not only goes for our team, but a majority of the teams who compete with us as well. Shooting sports aren’t a mainstream sport, so it tends to be a pretty tight knit group and we all do our best to treat each other like family and friends,” he says.
The Hotshots team is coached by Joseph Dover, John Crooke, Chris McKinney and Phil Newendyke and managed by Sarah Dover.
This is the team’s second year shooting.
The York County Current 