Shooters Earn Shot at Nationals

SEELEY LAKE - The Hellgate Civilian Shooters wrapped up the regular season and have been participating in post-season invitation matches starting with Regional Championships at the end of March.

The shooters finished third out of 16 invited teams at the Three Position (3P) Air Gun Regional Championships in Sandy, Utah. They earned an invite to the National Championships end of June at Camp Perry, Ohio. This is the first time the Hellgate Civilian Shooters team has been invited to shoot at the National Championship.

The Hellgate Civilian Shooters team that shot at Regionals included Seeley Lake shooters Justin Thomas, Ibby Lorentz and Sam Weisenburger, Alex Weisenburger of Florence, Mont. and alternate Libby Diller of Frenchtown, Mont. Last year the team finished 15th out of 16 teams at the Regional Championships.

This year's third place finish "was just awesome for those kids," said Hellgate Civilian Shooters Head Coach Trace Weisenburger. Their score not only qualified them for the National Championships but also ranked them sixth of the 18 invited. Weisenburger believes that they are the only precision junior team that has gotten an invite to the National Championships.

Lorentz took six place overall of 160 junior shooters invited to the Regional Championships. Coach Weisenburger said Lorentz has been the star of the team this year consistently posting scores in the top 15 juniors in the country.

In addition to the team's success at Regionals, Lorentz and Thomas shot at the Junior Olympic Training Center after being invited to compete alongside 78 other shooters from around the country in April. Thomas shot small bore and air gun shooting a personal best with his small bore. Lorentz also shot a personal best during the match.

"I don't really look at the exact rankings because I don't really compare them to the other kids," said Weisenburger. "I look at what is compared to their own scores when they go and shoot under that kind of competition. I don't expect them to beat other kids, I expect them to beat themselves."

Lorentz also competed in the American Legion 3 Position Air Rifle Postal Match with 450 other shooters from around the country. She shot on her home range in Bonner, Mont. and was in sixth place after the first round. The top 15 shooters were given a second round that they again shot on their home range. Lorentz moved into second of the top 15 after the second round. She has been invited on an all-expense-paid trip to Colorado Springs, Colo. to shoot shoulder-to-shoulder with the top 15. The top shooter has the chance to earn a $5,000 scholarship, second place wins $2,500 and the third place shooter takes home $1,000.

After two weeks off, the shooters are practicing twice a week in Bonner to prepare for the National Championship. Weisenburger said their goal leading up to nationals is working on how to deal with the pressure they are going to face and the failures that will come and how to bring themselves back to focusing again.

"Now it's a mental game," said Weisenburger. "They all can shoot at the level they need to. It's just mentally getting them there to where they can do it in a big match. Nationals is a big match. You can't put that pressure on them in Seeley Lake. We need to take them out." Weisenburger said all the NCAA coaches will be there watching the juniors shoot.

Weisenburger's goal for the team at Nationals is to put the pressure on them so they can return again next year and shoot after another season under their belt.

"They have been climbing the ladder and doing extremely well," said Weisenburger.

The Wilderness Sportman's Club in Seeley Lake donated $500 towards their travel to Regionals and paid for their team logo to be put on a banner at Nationals. They are hosting the rifle raffle for the team for a 243 Weatherby Vanguard. The raffle tickets are $10 per ticket with only 300 sold. They will be available at the Bake Sale May 21. The drawing will be June 15. All proceeds go to the Hellgate Shooters.

"We wanted to help these kids," said Walters who is the club's secretary/treasurer. "We also want to network to get a younger crowd involved in the club."

In addition to the rifle raffle, other fundraising efforts to help the team earn money to go to the National Championship include: a bake sale at Cory's Valley Market May 21 starting at 7 a.m .; businesses can purchase an ad space on their t-shirts that will be worn at Nationals; and a gofundme.com site at https://www.gofundme.com/hellgatejuniors. The total cost for the team to attend is $20,000.