Submitted By Bill Aston

The Dillon County 4-H Shooting Sports Club had 17 members to attend the South Carolina 4-H State Championship Sporting Clay competition at the Palmetto Shooting Complex in Edgefield, SC, on June 13th.

The team’s 17 shooters competed in squads of three and the team had squads competing in five different divisions. The Palmetto Shooting Complex is a new shooting range which was built as a cooperative venture between the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the National Wild Turkey Federation. The targets for the 4-H State Sporting Clay Championship were set by complex manger Rhett Simmons and were challenging but lots of fun. All shooters in all divisions shot the same course.

The 4-H divisions are determined by age and experience. Awards are given for first through third place to recognize performance. The Sr. Advanced division is for competitors in the 9th through 12th grade and who have participated for more than one year. Dillon County Shooters in this squad were Myers Hamer, Samuel Coleman, and Austin Miller. They missed the awards by one spot, coming in fourth place in their division.

The Sr. 1st year division is for shooters in the 9th through 12th grade in their first year of competition. Shooters may be moved up from the Jr. Divisions to complete squads and the Dillon County team had to move up two shooters to complete a squad to compete in this division. Walker Brumble, Sr. 1st year shooter, and Daniel Camp and Davis Lockamey, Jr. members, competed in this division and came in second Place. Individuals with the highest scores are also recognized in each division and Walker Brumble was second place High Over All (HOA) in this division and Daniel Camp was fourth HOA.

In the Jr. Advanced division the Dillon County team had squad members Zack Arrington, Justin Herring, and Gately Bethea competing. They missed the trophy awards by one place, coming in fourth. This Division is for shooters in the 8th grade or below who have participated at least one year.

Mason Powers, Jackson Elrod, and Connor Collins competed in the Jr. 1st year Division. This is for shooters in the 8th grade or below and in their 1st year of competition. The squad shot well but also came in just out of the medal round by placing fourth.

The Dillon County team was able to fill a complete Ladies Varsity squad for this event. The squad of Hannah Martin, Sarah Freeman, and Bree Ammons came in third place. This squad’s members are all female shooters.

Other Dillon County individual shooters competing were Zachary Sisler in the Sr. 1st Year division and David Ryan Camp in the Jr. 1st year division.

In addition to the awards presented at this State Championship event, several other awards were received this year. Hannah Martin, Owen Hutchinson, Zachary Sisler, and Ellison Rourke were awarded $1000 scholarships at the SCYSF Championship. David Ryan Camp was the winner of a 12-gauge Berretta shotgun, and Myers Hamer was the winner of a 20-gauge Mossberg shotgun.

Three members of the Dillon County team will be representing South Carolina at the 4-H National Invitational Sporting Competition in Grand Island, Nebraska from June 21 to June 26. Hannah Martin, Owen Hutchinson, and Myers Hamer, all from the Dillon County Team, along with Saluda County team member Riley Nordin, will travel to Nebraska to compete in Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays as the South Carolina Team. They will be competing against 4-H teams from all other US States.

There is one final competition for the South Carolina 4-H this year. On Saturday, August 1, the team will again travel to Edgefield, site of the Palmetto Shooting Complex, to compete in the State Trap Championship. This will be the final event of the 2014-2015 season.

The 4-H annual year begins in September and anyone interested in joining any of the 4-H clubs may call the Clemson extension offices in Dillon, Marion, or Marlboro Counties. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.

The Dillon County 4-H club depends on support from many sources. Adult volunteers who have devoted their time for training and serving as coaches include Brian Mason, Wayne Hamer, Billy Miller, Carlton Carr, Stephen Arrington, Emory Herring, Allen Gasque, Rhett Coleman, Raetta Coleman, Julie Hodges, Mark Herring, Joey Collins, Andy Freeman, Richard McFee, and Bill Aston.