The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s trap team took first at the North Central Regional match in Sparta, Ill., on April 5.

The team left Platteville around 4 p.m. and arrived in Sparta at 10 p.m., followed by a Saturday afternoon of shooting around 1:30 p.m.

The premiere World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta hosts numerous games and tournaments throughout the year.

As members of the Scholastic Clay Target Program, UW-Platteville’s Sportsmen’s Club had the opportunity to send some of their best shooters to Sparta.

The team consisted of Reed Slaby, Joshua Criscimagna, Mathew Henningfield, Cassandra Epping, Calieb Cory and Christian Jensen.

Led by Slaby, a senior electrical engineering major, the team took first overall with several shooters placing in the top of their individual events.

Slaby placed third overall and second under the collegiate athlete category.

Criscimagna, a sophomore engineering physics major, placed third as a collegiate athlete, following close behind Slaby and another shooter from a separate collegiate team.

“I would have expected Josh [Criscimagna] to shoot better, but Reed has much better competition experience,” Sandholm, physics professor and advisor to the club, said.

The event is broken down into four sections with 25 clays tossed in each section, varying from 45 degrees horizontally to 45 degrees vertically, and the targets are shot at a distance of approximately 16 yards.

At the end of the event, they add up the total from the four sections to garner a score out of 100.

Aside from shooters at UW-Platteville, the other teams combined to total 21 shooters from four other collegiate programs.

Epping, a sophomore pre-vet major and the only woman on the team, took first place in the women’s division.

Although the event consisted of only two female competitors, Epping successfully ended up on top.

“I actually shot really bad, but I still got first. I think there was one [other girl],” Epping said. “I liked the weather and seeing some people I haven’t seen in a while.”

The shooters’ skills and composure are essential when competing at a national or regional event, much like the event held in Sparta.

“You hit every single target that can possibly come out of that trap house, but to do it 100 times in a row and not know which target is coming next is a huge mind game,” Criscimagna said.

The team has been practicing for the event every Thursday night at a shooting range in Cassville.

Combined with the Scholastic Pistol Program to form the Sportsmen’s Club, the trap team also has a fund with the Midway USA Foundation, in which the team receives money for participating in events and even more for placing at these events.

Other than the North Central Regional in Sparta, the team also competed at the University of Kentucky in December, where they placed second out of 10 teams, bringing in even more funds for the squad.

Moving forward, Sandholm, as well as the other shooters on the team, hope to continue their successful shooting, gain more members and compete at the national level.