Of the 19 students participating on the team, Chelsea Pierce and Kyle Pierce each placed in the top 200 nationally in the sport. Additionally, Olivia Balch came away with the top novice award for females at the New York State Competition.

As a team, following a third place finish in its conference, Fredonia had a stellar postseason run.

On June 1, Connor Sullivan, Daniel Cook, Chelsea Pierce, Kyle Pierce, and Lexi Wright competed at the second annual Western New York High School Trap Competition. Chelsea Pierce took first place among the females, while her brother, Kyle Pierce, took first place among the males. The team’s combined score earned them first place among all varsity teams.

Less than a week later, on June 7, the team sent 17 students to compete in the New York State Competition. The morning squads all performed well, but the wind in the afternoon took its toll. In the end, Fredonia finished in fifth place out of 52 schools for the day, but finished only 7 birds out of first place.

The Fredonia Trap Team took first place at the WNY High School Trap Competition. Pictured in the back are Connor Sullivan, Daniel Cook, and Kyle Pierce. Pictured in the front are Chelsea Pierce and Lexi Wright.

In back-to-back years, Fredonia Trap Coach Jerry Kinney brought all of the students who wanted to participate at the State competition, regardless of their skill level. He said what he loves about Trap is that “everybody gets to compete, regardless of their skill level.”

The team achieved the following scores at the State Competition: Nathan Balch (90), Olivia Balch (89), Wyatt Bartoo (95), Daniel Cook (92), Aiden Czekanski (82), Brayden Fabiano (80), Lucie Katta (57), RJ Koopman (82), Aidan Kinney (87), Garrett Lesch (92), Chelsea Pierce (86), Kyle Pierce (93), Connor Sullivan (69), Mason Tomaszewski (85), Thane Turo (84), Jazz Witkowski (75), and Lexi Wright (83).

Kinney was instrumental in bringing the program to Fredonia. He presented a detailed proposal to the Board of Education and took on a good portion of the responsibility as the program was founded. Now a Board member himself, Kinney is proud to see how the program has grown in the past three years.

“I enjoy it,” Kinney said. “It fits the kids that aren’t the baseball, football, soccer kids. We have quite a few quiet kids on the team and it fits them real well. It gets them to socialize while we’re practicing and competing.”

For the year, the top three female scorers were Chelsea Pierce, Lexi Wright, and Olivia Balch, and the top three male scores were Kyle Pierce, Mason Tomaszewski, and Daniel Cook. The team graduated six seniors this year.

“We’re always looking for new kids to step up to the plate,” Kinney said.

The team expressed its gratitude to its supporters, including the Hanover Fish and Game Club, and its coaches for volunteering their time.