American Annie Bowman wins the Trap Shooting state championship

The Unionville-Sebewaing Area softball team won its fifth consecutive and 10th overall state championship on June 15 at Secchia Stadium in East Lansing.

But they weren’t the only American athletes to win a state title that day.

Just down the road in Mason, USA, sophomore Annie Bowman was also crowned state champion. She became State Champion Novice Female Shooter and Novice Overall State Champion in Class 1A in Clay Target shooting on Saturday. She also had time to watch the softball team’s championship.

“It worked perfectly,” Bowman said. “The awards ceremony took place just before the softball game. The Secchia Stadium was not far from the kicking field, so we got to watch the softball team win afterwards. That was cool.”

Bowman said it was great to get the state championship, especially because it took a lot of work to get there.

“The practices that took me there every week pushed me,” she said. “I am very grateful that I was able to achieve this. I am also grateful for all the support I have received.”

Most sports focus on the physical aspect of the game. Bowman said with trap shooting, however, it’s more of a mind game.

“You have to train for it,” she said. ‘If you get inside your head, you’ll miss it. If you stay calm, everything will be fine. My motto on Saturday was: ‘Every bird is a new bird.’ If you think that, then you are doing quite well.”

“It definitely takes time,” she added. “You need time with your gun. You will see improvement as a result.”

Bowman will be a junior this fall. She hopes this state championship will give her her own gun.

“I will now try to convince my father (to do that),” she said. “Hopefully I get that and practice more and more this summer to prepare for this spring.”

Bowman scored 91 out of 100 to win the Novice Female 1A state championship.

“That’s great for a beginner,” she said. “Especially since rookies usually have a season average of under 15 (out of 25) to qualify for states. I ended up shooting an average of 22.7 yesterday. That was really great.”

“I would like to thank everyone who brought me here and for all the support I had on Saturday,” she added. “I really appreciate it.”

Sara Schadd of Bad Ax also competed in the Novice Female 1A state championship, finishing 56th.

American Hayden Langmaid also competed in the Novice Male 1A state championship, finishing tied for 26th. Cass City’s Cole Lemanski tied for 31st and Toby Sattleberg tied for 44th. North Huron’s Wyatt Vigneski finished tied for 54th.

American Tyler Ewald tied for 41st at the Varsity Male 1A state championship. Cass City’s Brad Horning, American Sy Bernia and Blaine Schmuck each finished in a tie for 70th. Carson Emming of Harbor Beach and Brady DeGroat of the US each finished tied for 95th.

Deckerville’s Marie Ridley tied for 12th at the Varsity Female 1A state championship.