By Michele RobertsonThe newest team to be added to the Carlsbad Cavemen sports offerings is the Cavemen Trap & Skeet Team. They came in with a bang their first year! This year marks the team’s second season, and they are ready to defend their State Championship title.Coach Mark Hamel started the team in the fall of 2020. “We had a late start last year, and we put in a lot of work. On any given weekend we will be practicing or competing,” he shared.“We compete monthly starting in October and end our season in May at the state championship. We practice weekly at the Carlsbad shooting range out on Happy Valley road,” Hamel added. The team consists of a dedicated group of students: Dillon Lopez, Nathan Lewis, William Heath, Mason Cartwright, Morgan Phillips, Jalie Meadors, Jacob Griffin, Savannah Tupper, Cash Ryan, Lico Ybaben, Liam Baggs, Seth Salcido and Hayden Abell.Trap shooting has been around since the 1800’s and was originally intended as practice for bird hunting. Shooters aim at targets moving away from them, traveling at 45 miles per hour (68 mph in the Olympics). Skeet shooting came around in the 1920’s and adapts the way the clays are released to simulate the unpredictable way birds fly. Shooters aim for targets as they cross each other in skeet shooting. Both sports are recognized as summer Olympic sports. Junior Jalie Meadors joined the team because she’s always enjoyed shooting. When she heard about the team and the opportunity to shoot with kids her own age, rather than just adults she felt it would bea great way to learn more about shooting shotguns.“I’m looking forward to working with the team. We have fun, and I’ll get to work on improving myself,” said Meadors.Freshman Liam Baggs had a friend on the team who encouraged him to come check it out. “All the shoots I’ve been able to go to were really fun,” he said.“I’m moving up a division so I’m looking forward to competing with new people. If you’re thinking about joining, do it. It is a lot more fun than you’d think! The community is supportive,and you get to meet new people,” said Baggs. “The only drawback is finding ammo,” he added.Freshman Jacob Griffin was also invited by a team member and hopes more people will join the team and that they can get more funding as ammo is expensive. “It’s a lot of work to get to where you want to be, but it is a lot of fun,” he shared.
Senior Nathan Lewis has a positive outlook for this upcoming season. “This year I’m looking forward to winning state, working towards scholarships, the Army Marksmanship Unit, and to place at the World Championships.” His father Stephen Lewis shared that “the competition level went way up than with other shooting sports associations. The kids also have a better chance at winning awards.”Junior Dillon Lopez is the Top Shot in the state, out of 800 targets he shot the most. When asked what he is most looking forward to this year, he said “winning state as a team.”“The kids get to shoot more competitively than with other organizations and their skill levels have increased with regular practice and competitions,” shared Riki Lopez, Dillon’s mother. She shared that she’s been watching most of the kids on the team shoot for years and is happy they have the school team to practice and compete with. The camaraderie and sportsmanship among these shooters is top notch. They are supportive and encouraging of one another, and from the way these kids speak....they have a lot of fun together. It also happens to be the high school sport with the fewest injuries by sport making it one of the safest sports to play. “Last season at the state championship at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton our team won the state championship in Sporting Clays competition, got 2nd place in the Skeet Competition and we placed 3rd in Trapshooting. Out of 12 teams across the state we did very well as a team,” shared Hamel. “For the 2021-2022 season we are looking to return to championship form and claim back to back titles,” he added. “I love coaching kids and watching them improve, grow, and meet their goals. When we compete I think I’m more nervous than they are,” shared Hamel. “I’m really proud of them.”There is no funding provided by the school district for this team due to liability. To make up for this the team is hosting a Cavemen Classic Benefit Shoot on Saturday August 28th at ATC Shooting Sports. For registration and more information please call or email Mark Hamel at 575.361.8187, hamelm0728@gmail.com