Hello shooters!
There's a lot coming up! Hope you've been getting ready for everything coming at ya!
Don't forget - to make the state team, you have to shoot in one of the IL Zone shoots. The Central Zone shoot is in Peoria and the Southern Zone shoot is in Bunker Hill in May. Be sure to get out and shoot one to qualify! There were a lot more people that qualified this past year compared to the one before and I hope to see that trend continue!
The state shoot is coming up quickly now. Can't wait to see you all again! If you want the same camping spot from last year, be sure to let me know by May 1. I have received a lot of emails from people so far, which is great. Don't want anyone to miss out! To reserve from last year or to save one for this year, my email is
There was a great turnout of IL shooters at the Spring Grand in Tucson, AZ - 33 shooters! I was keeping up with the IL names on the leader boards as well. Some names I saw a few times - Ian Lawrence, Mike Westjohn, Chase Horton, Drew Strohecker, Alex York, Bill Lawrence, Dan and Sue Staker, Ken Rigler, Dale Miller, Brian Frost, Charlie Bickle and Ken Rogowski. Great job representing our state down there!
Lauren Mueller
ATA Delegate
Hello shooters!
Hopefully by now you’ve all swept the dust off your gun and have taken advantage of the weather to send a few rounds down range. Shooting season will be in full swing before you know it!
I’ve had several texts and emails asking about dates for state shoots this year. June is a busy month for it! The Illinois State High School Clay Target League has their state shoot June 2nd and 3rd. They have 2 days this year because of how fast word is spreading and the amount of teams has increased drastically. We don’t have a number yet for how many, but from word of mouth, sounds like it’s going to be boomin’! The AIM State shoot will be June 9th (200 Singles) and 10th (100 doubles, 100 handicap).
The ISTA State Shoot will be June 11-17. We have changed the program a bit this year! Instead of doing 200 singles on Thursday, we are knocking the Class Singles to 100 targets and adding 100 doubles. Be sure to let me know if you do or don’t like the change in the program.
Something else that will be changing is our website. It isn’t complete yet, but it is getting close! The old website wasn’t mobile friendly, so we have changed that. We also plan on updating more, adding new spotlights and making it overall more user friendly. I will share the link for that as soon as it is complete!
Don’t forget to catch an IL Zone shoot this year to qualify for the state team. You do have to shoot the 200 singles, 100 doubles and 100 handicap at any of the 3 zones to qualify, as well as the HAA 200 singles, 100 doubles and 100 handicap at the IL State Shoot. There was a big jump in participation from the first year I figured the teams to the second, and I hope to see that continue! Competition is what keeps the sport rollin’!
Hope to see you all soon!
Lauren Mueller
ATA Delegate
Hello shooters!
Hopefully by now everyone has recovered from the holidays and are getting ready to get back into shooting again. I'm sure some of you will be heading down to Tucson or Florida and I would love to hear how many trophies you brought home! Shoot me an email at
Also, by the time you read this, the Illinois Hall of Fame will be a 501c-3 and can start taking donations. The blueprints for the building are getting their final touches and will begin construction as soon as the funds are there. Dennis Baker is on the board and will be handling the donations, so if you are interested in donating, please get a hold of him. Every little bit helps!
For those of you who are looking to make plans for the 2018 AIM and ISTA State Shoots, the dates will be June 9 and 10 for AIM and 11-17 for ISTA. I do want to mention that if you want to keep your camping spots from last year, you will have to get a hold of me by May 1, 2018, to reserve it. Looking forward to another year of great scores and great memories with you all! See you soon! Lauren Mueller
ATA Delegate
Hello Shooters!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Now it's time to start the new year with a new attitude. We all know trapshooting is 80% mental. The more positive we are, the better our scores are going to be. So let's all go into the 2018 target year with a positive attitude and have one of our best years yet! Set your goals for the year (making the state team, going for the All American team or breaking our first 100 straight) and take the steps necessary to achieve those goals. Practice and dedication pay off, so support your local clubs and go out and give it your all! The ISTA is working on moving the Hall of Fame. They are going to add onto the ISTA (registration) building at Brittany on the west end. They are working on becoming a 501-c3 to accept donations to help get the building going, and are just waiting on the state to approve them as an entity. The blueprint is almost complete and will begin construction when the funds are ready.
I'm excited to hear about all of your success stories in the future. Send them in an email to me and I would love to put them in the article!
Happy Shooting!
Lauren Mueller
ATA Delegate
Hello shooters! Hope everyone has had a wonderful 2017 and will have an even better time ushering in 2018. Now I get to announce the 2017 Illinois State Team! There were many more people who met the qualifications for the team this year, which is great! Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? I will list the names on the team, along with the combined averages for each shooter. We’ll start with the Men’s Team: Captain – Bradley Bomkamp (94.09), John Kravanek (93.41), Mike Hathaway (93.35), Mark Fielder (92.11), Tom Richardson (92.04), Kevin Wunder (91.92), John Upcraft (91.73), Robert Johns (91.68), Jeremiah Schultz (91.63), and Brian Cox (91.46). For the first time in a long time, we had a full 5 shooters on the Lady 1 and Lady 2 teams! Lady 1: Captain – Lauren Mueller (94.57), Courtney Meinhardt (91.71) Regan Armbrust (89.20), Sophia Eyman (88.96), and Hannah Martin (88.68). Lady 2: Captain: Anita Knearem (87.21), Judith Wegner (86.27), Lora Murphy (80.84), Sue Staker (80.25), and Denise Dressler (80.01). The Sub Junior Team: Captain – Alex York (91.76), Blake Harnetiaux (87.37), and Kurtis Schewe (85.03). The Junior Team: Captain – Chase Horton (95.13), Kyle Blankenship (93.42), Wyatt Criner (92.12). Garrett Zeeb (91.69), and J T Thiems (91.15). The Junior Gold Team: Captain – Drew Strohecker (95.47), Walter Barnickel (94.3). The Sub Vet Team: Captain – Brian Hezel (94.47), Frank Haynes (94.43), Frank Payne (94.11), Dave Dressler (92.64) and Harvey Schultz (91.82). The Veteran Team: Captain – Mike Westjohn (95.08), Charles Bickle (93.08), Michael Obert (90.79), Alan Maly (90.16) and Loren Rippentrop (90.13). The Senior Veteran Team: Captain – Paul VonBurg (93.22), Jerry Sedlacek (93.19), Mike Jordan (92.92), Joe Nehrt (92.55) and Larry Hight (92.18). The Chair Shooter Captain – Ziggy Tkaczenko (88.46). Congratulations to all of you! I hope to see you all in the running again next year. The awards will be given out at the state meeting at the 2018 State Trap Shoot. I do encourage you to be present so I get to hand you your certificate, pin and patch.
I want to wish all of you happy holidays and safe travels when you’re going to see the ones you love. See you all in 2018!
Lauren Mueller, ATA Delegate