MUMFORD, N.Y. — The end of the school year means state tournaments for student-athletes of all kinds across New York state. In Central New York this weekend, hundreds of them will go for the top spots in a competition that takes a steady hand and laser focus.
Carter Hallett is part of a team that’s going places. He’s not just one of the top shooters on the Caledonia-Mumford trap team. He’s one of the top high school clay target shooters in the state.
“The challenge it gives, how hard I’ve had to work to get to the point I am at now,” said Hallett, a senior. “It’s been a it’s been a while, so I feel I’m feeling proud about what I’ve done.”
This weekend, all 33 members of the Cal-Mum trap team will head to the New York Trap Shooting State Tournament in Bridgeport, near Syracuse. Some of the students grew up around guns. Some are new to the sport of hitting that little clay target as it’s launched through the air. It takes practice.
“Definitely learning technique, I’d say, because trap is so repetitive,” said senior Aiden Decker. “It’s one of those repetitive sports that you really need to lock in for.”
“The whole thing is about safety first,” said Rick Grattan, president of Mumford Sportsman’s Club, where the team shoots. “You know, that’s big. You got to have the safety. Make it fun for them. And then we’ll get them shooting the way they should.”
“The best thing to do is take your mind off of it,” said Hallett, of the strategy involved. “Any thoughts on your mind that you’re focused on or anything? It’s just going to mess it all up. It’s got to be all natural.”
The team held its annual end-of-regular-season banquet and a final practice before heading to the state tournament. The sport is growing — 3,200 students from more than 180 schools compete in the New York State High School Clay Target League. Cal-Mum’s team has been around since 2018.
“Just kind of a sport that I’ve been good at,” explained Chadwick Littleton, also a senior. “Kind of from the start, I just kind of got into it. I wasn’t really good at other conventional school sports, and it was just kind of something that clicked for me, and just kind of kept going with it.”
After this weekend’s state tournament, several team members will travel to the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship in Michigan in July.
“All of us are really supportive of each other, no matter what score we get,” said Decker. “And that just makes us a really great community here. And I’m really glad I have it.”