SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Shooting Sports program is preparing to host the eighth annual Concordia Bulldog Sporting Invitational. The 2023 edition of the event is set to run this Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 21-22) at Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Neb., where action will begin at 9 a.m. CT both days. Oak Creek Sporting Club serves as the home range for the Bulldogs, who first put on this event in 2016. Since then, the Bulldog Sporting Invitational has routinely hosted more than 100 collegiate and high school competitors each year.
Head Coach Dylan Owens’ program had this past weekend off from competition. Concordia used that time to help put on the Kids & Clays Sporting Clays Tournament (Oct. 13-15) at Oak Creek. This year’s Kids & Clays event raised approximately $113,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Omaha.
The format for the Concordia Invitational features 200 sporting and 100 super sporting clay targets for each athlete over the two days of action. At the 2022 event, the Bulldogs placed fourth high overall out of 11 squads with a total of 1,338. The top three teams were Fort Hays State University (Kan.) (1,422), William Penn University (Iowa) (1,401) and Midland University (1,357). In the history of Concordia’s shooting sports program, coaches Joel Helmer, Scott Moniot and Owens have worked with Oak Creek Sporting Club owner Terry Kriz to put on the event.
Owens’ Bulldogs have competed in five events this fall, placing third out of 12 at the Fort Hays State Fall Shoot, second out of 11 at the Mid-Plains Community College Fall Flurry, fifth out of 15 at the Midland Warrior Open, third out of 11 at the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships and third out of 11 at the Hastings Bronco Invitational. In the most recent outing, Jack Nelson ran a perfect 100 in skeet. Back at the conference championships, Claire Kee took the women’s sporting clays title and Kaylee Hinton won the women’s trap championship. There have been others who have shot perfect scores, such as Sam Blevins and Katie Welker in trap at the Fort Hays State Shoot and Mason Ward in trap at the Midland Open.
2022 Concordia Invitational Team Standings
1. Fort Hays State University - 1,422
2. William Penn University - 1,401
3. Midland University - 1,357
4. Concordia University - 1,338
5. Iowa Western Community College - 1,323
6. Doane University - 1,300
7. Wartburg College - 1,296
8. Northwest Kansas Technical College - 1,242
9. University of Nebraska-Lincoln - 1,210
10. Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture - 1,144
11. University of Wyoming - 1,117
Once the Concordia Invitational wraps up, the Bulldogs will look forward to one final event for the fall portion of the 2023-24 season: the Waco Trap & Skeet Collegiate Invitational in Waco, Texas (Nov. 4-5).