Two Southwest trap shooters have won first-place awards at the 2024 AIM Grand National Championships, held in late July in Sparta, Ill.

Riley Phillips earned a first-place finish at nationals, and Dakota Cotton took first in High All-Around for his combined singles, doubles and handicap scores.

The teams finished strong, but couldn’t squeeze out the tough competition, according to Coach Staci Day. The junior squad came in fourth place, missing the championship by only 4 targets out of 1,000. The sub-junior squad finished in fifth place with some outstanding scores, Day said.

‘We had several other shooters finish top 10,’ she said. ‘Ky Miles finished in ninth in High All-Around and Jesse Jones finished fifth. Michael Freeman, Phillips and Cotton all shot their first 25 straight, and Case Jennings shot his first 50 straight at the event.

‘Everyone worked hard all season and gave nationals everything they had,’ Day said. ‘Everyone shot well and represented their school well. Proud to be a Trojan.’

Southwest was one of 572 teams competing in the 2024 AIM Grand National Championship. Of the 1,062 individual shooters, 247 were from Missouri. Southwest accounted for 14 of the state’s total.

Southwest trap has has two seniors graduating, Lilly Wolf and Caleb Ayer.

‘The 12 shooters returning, along with next year’s new trap shooters, are going to be a force to be reckoned with,’ Day said. ‘I am really excited about the future with these shooters.”