COLUMBUS, Ohio – The top male and female athletes in Doubles Skeet were recognized by the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) at the 2016 National Team Championships for their outstanding individual performances in each of its six competitive divisions.

Honored for their ability to break clay targets on the Skeet fields at the SCTP Nationals were women shooters Carey Garrison (Crossville, Tenn.) of the Cumberland County Clay Crushers in the Rookie Division with 73; Riley Hakalmazian (Glendale, Ariz) of the Ben Avery Clay Crushers in the Intermediate/Entry Level Division with 69; Dakota Duke (Charlotte, Tenn.) of the Dickson Clay Commanders in the Intermediate/Advanced Division with 77; Ansley Wallace (Eatonton, Ga.) of the Brookline Top Shots in the Senior/Jr. Varsity Division with 87; Alexis Eidson (Byron, Ga.) of the Central Georgia Elite Shooters in the Senior/Varsity Division with 94; and Shelby Evens (Carwford, Ga.) of the Mason-Dixon Clay Busters in the Collegiate Division with 95.

Among the men competing this year the top performances came from Owen Knight (Macy, Ind.) of the Kosko Dust Devils in the Rookie Division with 85; Thomas Miles (Brooks, Ga.) of the Wolf Creek Shotgun Team in the Intermediate/Entry Level Division with 96; Connor Bergman (Laurel, Mont.) of the Smokin Guns in the Intermediate/Advanced Division with 94; Cole Gintert (Morrow, Ohio) of the Fairfield Sportsmen's Lead Slingers in the Senior/Jr. Varsity Division with 96; Benjamin Schroeder (Cherry Valley, Ill.) of the Central Falcons in the Senior/Varsity Division with 97; and Drew Lieske (Oxford, Mich.) of the Hillsdale College in the Collegiate Division with 92.

Held July 9-16 at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio, nearly 2,200 athletes representing 28 states faced more than 961,000 clay targets during eight days of competition in the shooting disciplines of Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays.

The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is a youth development program in which adult coaches and other volunteers use the shooting sports of Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays, as well as the Olympic disciplines of Bunker Trap, Trap Doubles and International Skeet to teach and to demonstrate sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty, ethics, integrity, teamwork, and other positive life skills. Nationally, there are nearly 13,700 students and more than 2,900 coaches from 43 states participating in the Scholastic Clay Target Program.

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (SSSF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the National Governing Body for the Scholastic Clay Target Program. SCTP was started by the National Shooting Sports Foundation in 2001.

For more information about SCTP and SSSF, visi www.sssfonline.org. You can also follow SCTP on Facebook a www.facebook.com/ShootSCTP or https://www.instagram.com/scholasticshootingsports/>@ScholasticShootingSports on Instagram.