Local teens win national clay shooting tournament

By Staff
Scot Beard
The fourth time was the charm for the Waterfall Valley Claybusters as they were finally able to stand as national champions after three years as runners up.
The team, consisting of five local high school students, stepped out of the shadows of second place and assumed the title of best in the nation at the Scholastics Clay Target Program's national tournament in Sparta, Ill. last weekend.
"It's a lot of fun," said Jacob Gist. "And it was about time."
Gist, Blake Reed, Kollin Hester, Alex Pounders and Trevor Mitchell have been shooting together for several years and have had success at both the state and national levels.
Many of the team members watched another group – including Reed's older brother, Hunter – win the national championship five years ago.
The passion rubbed off on Blake and soon he was getting his friends involved in clay shooting.
"Blake Reed took me off to Bluff Creek one day," Mitchell said. Mitchell then took Gist to the area and the team began to take shape.
Countless hours of practice paid off for the team as they began competing in tournaments across the south and won several team and individual honors behind the coaching of Anthony Hester and Larry Mitchell.
There success at the national level in recent years drew the attention of the television show Shooting USA. The Claybusters were featured in a segment for the show that has been on rotation on the Outdoor Channel this year.
Gist said the toughest part about the competitions is controlling his adrenaline. He has a special trick to calm his nerves.
"I just sit there and think about other things," Gist said.
While this group of guys has helped put Franklin County on the map in the world of clay shooting, there is a younger group ready to step up and take their place.
The younger group – Matthew Waldrep, Adam Mitchell, Jordan Gist, Dyllan Bailey and Evan Hargett – finished eighth at the national tournament in the junior division.
Trevor Mitchell and Jacob Gist think the younger kids could be hard to defeat in coming years.
"If they stay together, they're going to be good," Mitchell said.
So, how do the younger guys compare to the older guys when they were in the junior division?
"They are probably better (than we were)," Gist said.
The teams will get a shot at another national title next week when they return to Sparta for the AIM national tournament.