The 2026 Iowa Shooting Sports State Championship Series got underway last weekend in Coon Rapids at the AVAD Hunt Club with the International Bunker Trap Championship. The event consisted of 125 targets and follows USA Shooting rules.
This highly challenging shotgun shooting discipline, also held during the summer Olympics, featured 15 fixed target-throwing machines located in a concrete bunker in front of five shooting stations, launching targets faster (up to 68+ mph) and at wider angles than American trap. A round consists of 25 targets and unlike its American version, the shooter does not know which of the three machines in front of them will release the target.
International Bunker Trap Championship Results
Men’s SCTP Individual
- Benjamin Randall, Gilbert Clay Commanders, 94
- Joseph Sacco, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 81
- Joe Thielen, Carroll County Shooting Sports, 69
Women’s SCTP Individual
- Evelynn Erhardt, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 87
- Caragin Conley, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 74
SCTP Team
- Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 242
- Carroll County Shooting Sports, 195
Men’s Collegiate SCTP Individual
- Hayden Koch, Iowa Central Community College, 95
- Nathan Swanson, Iowa Central Community College, 89
Women’s Collegiate SCTP Individual
- Megan Swartzendruber, Wartburg Knights, 99
Junior Olympic Men’s Individual
- Benjamin Randall, Gilbert Clay Commanders, 94
- Joseph Sacco, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 81
- Joe Thielen, Carroll County Shooting Sports, 69
Junior Olympic Women’s Individual
- Megan Swartzendruber, Wartburg Knights, 99
- Evelynn Erhardt, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 87
- Caragin Conley, Cedar Valley Shotgunners, 74
This weekend, the International Skeet Championship event will be held at the Mahaska County Ikes. The event will consist of 125 targets and follow USA Shooting rules. This fast-paced, Olympic-sanctioned shotgun discipline differs from American Skeet by requiring a “low gun” start (stock below the hip until the target appears), a random 0-3 second delay in target release, and faster targets.
Over the course of the six-week championship series, more than 3,000 athletes will participate in one or more disciplines representing over 100 teams from across the state. The 2025/2026 season began on September 1 and will conclude the week of July 11-19 with the national event at the Cardinal Shooting Center located in Marengo, Ohio.
2026 Iowa Shooting Sports State Championship Series
- May 16 - International Bunker Trap Championship (AVAD Hunt Club - Coon Rapids)
- May 23 - International Skeet Championship (Mahaska County Ikes - Oskaloosa)
- May 30 - Scholastic Action Shooting Program Championship (Big Springs Shooting Complex - Searsboro)
- June 8-14 - Trap Championships (Iowa State Trapshooting Association - Cedar Falls)
- June 18-20 - Sporting Clays Championship (Highland Hideaway Hunting - Riverside)
- June 25-27 - Skeet Championships (Iowa State Trapshooting Association - Cedar Falls)
The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) are youth development programs that promote shooting sports and competitive shooting as a means to help young individuals achieve their highest potential and become their best selves. Both programs’ goals are to instill personal values and character traits, such as fair play, compassionate understanding, individual responsibility, sportsmanship, self-discipline, and personal commitment in young people.
For more information on SCTP and SASP, go to https://www.iowadnr.gov/things-do/shooting-sports.