ABOVE: Ashley Scheevel, Lucas Mosloski, Cole Nawrocki, Ethan Madsen, Dane Breitbarth and Grady Moore. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont trapshooting team is back on the range and putting in the work as they prepare to open the 2025 season.

After finishing second at the state tournament, they are using that momentum to get things going this season.

“We have 43 shooters this year,” said Fairmont head coach Scott Fuhrman. “Which is a little down from last year, but we had a pretty good-sized graduating class last year too, and a little smaller new recruits, so to speak. But otherwise, yeah, we’ve got a lot of our returning top shooters are back.”

Most of the squad that went to state last year, including Dane Breitbarth, Cole Nawrocki, Ethan Madsen and Caiden Padgett, are all returning this season and will be key shooters for the team as they embark on the path back to the top.

“Well, it’s both a team and an individual [sport],” said Fuhrman. “Because it’s a true team scoring, we just keep stressing to everybody that everybody’s score is important. So, 75% of our team’s scores are counted towards our weekly competition. So, it isn’t just that you have a top five kids or a top six, it doesn’t matter, everybody’s score matters.”

Despite having a rather large graduating class, a handful of new competitors have joined the team, and according to Fuhrman, they may be new to the sport, but not being new on the range has made things easier.

“Our process is, you know, pretty much the same. When we always have new shooters come in, we have a night of safety training and introduce them to how things work at the club and expectations,” said Fuhrman. “And this year, all of our new shooters had some previous experience shooting, which makes it a lot easier. So, they actually got into it, and they’re doing really well. So they had enough experience so that we were teaching basics, but it wasn’t the beginning basics.”

A major focus is on driving the mentality to get better, that anyone can be a top shooter, and that putting in the work is what matters.

“It’s [about] keeping everybody doing well,” said Fuhrman. “Then, bringing that next level group up. So, for the group that maybe was just underneath them, our goal is to start thinking that, yeah, they can be a top shooter also and kind of work towards that next level. So sometimes it’s pretty easy to sit back and say, well, they’re the best shooters. So I’m good enough. And so we’re always trying to push them to that next level. You know, think about the long term.”

The returning shooters’ focus is on being the best they can be so they can reach the top 100 in the state.

“Those guys want to do well, both at the individual and as you know a team,” said Fuhrman. “One of the goals of all of our shooters is to try to make the top 100 in the state. To do that, you’ve got to have very few misses. And that’s where Dane last year, when he did very well at the state shoot, he placed as an individual and he was placed high and was invited then to be able to do the top for the tournament shoot. So that’s always the goal of our top shooters. There’s not a lot of room for error in that one. Then it’s just kind of a weekly thing you try not to focus on the whole season. It’s that old saying for everything. It’s one target at a time.”

The trap team opens the season on Wednesday at the Fairmont Trap Club.