AMES, Iowa – Twenty Iowa 4-H delegates showcased their skills and sportsmanship at the 2023 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships in Grand Island, Nebraska, June 25-30. The event attracted a record number of 718 youth from 42 states, competing in the compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading and hunting skills disciplines.
The 4-H Safety and Education in Shooting Sports project helps young people practice self-discipline, concentration, sportsmanship, problem solving and the safe and responsible use of equipment.
The Iowa 4-H delegates were:
- Air rifle team Mikayla Kloth, Elijah Madsen, Chloe Rardin and Damon Wallace.
- Archery compound team Jocelynn Froah, Owen Kirby and Carli Venhaus.
- Archery recurve participants Jordon Kloth and Wyatt Silhanek.
- Muzzleloader participants Braden Vik and Weston Vik.
- Rifle smallbore team Moses Hochstetler, Lauren Keller, Maxwell Owen and Zachary Vinson.
- Shotgun team Cody Carroll, Jared Geis and Collin Vik.
- Wildlife participant Hunter Whitlatch.
The muzzleloader coach Ryan Keller said, “It’s not that we only want the youth to compete to win, but the competition really helps them challenge themselves and grow their confidence.”
Jordon Kloth, from Story County, placed fourth in 3D Recurve Archery, 10th in FITA Recurve Archery, 11th in Field Recurve Archery and 6th sixth overall for all Recurve Archery participants. She said, “I enjoy testing my skills and knowledge at a high level in a unique way. I love making connections and meeting people from across the country at this event. My twin sister and I had car trouble in Louisiana this past spring. Friends we met at the 2021 Shooting Sports National Championships came and helped us.”
Conrad Arnold, the long-standing 4-H Shooting Sports national committee chair, shared his reflections about the significance of this event. “When youth come to nationals, they gain a sense of belonging and are part of an event shared with youth across their state and the country. We love to see the youth develop mastery of all the different skills necessary to compete in the different disciplines. When youth compete at this event, youth develop higher levels of focus, determination, independence, responsibility and the ability to pay attention to details in ways that will benefit them in other future pursuits.”
Shareable photos and captions
- Iowa 4-H delegates front row left to right: Braden Vik, Collin Vik, Cody Carroll, Wyatt Silhanek, Jordon Kloth, Jocelynn Froah, Mikayla Kloth, Carli Venhaus, Chloe Rardin, Lauren Keller, Weston Vik. Back row left to right: Allison Brundy, Iowa 4-H Shooting Sports state coordinator; Barb Frauenholz, wildlife coach; Dale Pike, shotgun coach; Hunter Whitlatch; Eric Keller, air rifle coach; Elijah Madsen; Owen Kirby; Jared Geis; Damon Wallace; Lundy Sanson; Les Bacon, smallbore rifle coach; Moses Hochstetler; Zachary Vinson; Maxwell Owen; Ryan Keller, muzzleloader coach; Mike Kloth, recurve archery coach; and Matt Froah, compound archery coach.
- Iowa 4-H award winners left to right: Lauren Keller of Tama County placed eighth in the smallbore rifle silhouette competition. Jordon Kloth of Story County placed fourth in 3D recurve archery, 10th in FITA recurve archery, 11th in field recurve archery and sixth overall for all recurve archery participants.
