The Alfred State Trap Shooting team is bringing home the National Championship trophy after shooting to top honors at the 2026 USA College Clay Target League (USACCTL) National Championships. The Pioneers scored 962 points to earn both the Overall and Gold titles.
Justin Jerome (Boston, NY) led Alfred State with a score of 199 to earn 2nd place in the competition. Carter Hallett (Caledonia, NY) was 11th overall with 193, Teresa Cicora (Springwater, NY) was 20th with 191, John Button (Shortsville, NY) was 27th with 190, Ashley Burrows (Belmont, NY) was 37th with 189, Daniel Clark (Arkport, NY) was 46th with 187, David Malone (Kennedy, NY) was 56th with 186, Daniel Cook (Fredonia, NY) was 78th with 183, Daniel Tancredi (Cleveland, NY) was 85th with 182, and Ian Bolton (Naples, NY) was 103rd with 179.
“Winning a National Championship is an incredible accomplishment, and I am extremely proud of our team,” said Head Coach Brad Smith. “Over the past four years, our program has grown tremendously, and this achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of every student who traveled to Nationals. Their performance, commitment, and teamwork made this championship possible. I look forward to continuing to support their growth and success both on and off the range.”
185 total athletes competed in the competition representing over twenty-five colleges (17 competed with the mandatory five shooters to score).
Alfred State and Lake Land College (IL) both finished with 962 points but the Pioneers won the tiebreaker. Valley City State University (ND) was 3rd (955), Concordia College of Moorhead (MN) was 4th (947), and Bismark State College (ND) was 5th (946).
Alfred State, in just their fourth year of competition, finished 6th in 2025, 10th in 2024, and 5th in 2023.
