The Haines Hot Shots are living up to their name.

At the annual AlaskaYESS (Alaska Youth Education in Shooting Sports) State Championship June 5-8 in Chugiak, the Haines shooting club took home honors.

 Marksmen Colton Combs, James Stickler, and Alex Weerasinghe, all aged 11, together won a trophy in the novice division for overall high score.

Colton took second place in sporting clays, Alex took third place in trap, and James won first place in trap and third place in wobble trap. Bear Scott, 11, took second place in intermediate-division wobble trap. The team competed against about 130 shooters from around Alaska in five events: Trap, skeet, sporting clays, double trap and wobble trap. Each shooter shot 100 rounds in each event, not counting practice shots. Coach Nicole Holm estimated that each team member fired about 600 rounds total.

“We’re really happy with the kids,” Holm said. “They had some really tough shooting conditions. It was hot and standing out in that sun all day can wear on you.”

Alex said the most difficult event was the sporting clays, in which targets are launched unpredictably.  “You didn’t know the direction which way the birds were going,” he said. “Some were going straight up and some were rolling on the ground.”

Alex said he was proud of his results. “I had a really fun time,” he said.

Shooting so many rounds takes it toll on the body. After the competition, Colton Combs said his shoulder was sore. But that didn’t slow down the young athletes. Asked how they celebrated their win, Combs said, “we played football.”

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