Concordia Results | Complete Waco Invite Results
WACO, Texas – Senior Jack Nelson put on a clinic over the weekend as Concordia University Shooting Sports competed in its final event for the fall portion of the 2023-24 season. Nelson took first place HOA individual honors in besting a field of more than 100 shooters at the Waco Trap & Skeet Collegiate Invitational held in Waco, Texas, Nov. 4-5. As a team, the Bulldogs placed third with a total of 1,428 on the HOA leaderboard.
The course in Waco was a new one for all Concordia competitors. Head Coach Dylan Owens’ squad finished the fall on a high note with one of the team’s best overall performances of the season.
“We came out really strong at Fort Hays and Midland earlier in the season and then I felt like we went through some struggles with different things going on,” Owens said. “People who had been shooting well struggled at different times. We preached resiliency. If you have one bad round, that’s just one round. You can still save your score. The past couple weeks of practice we’ve been able to focus on this event. It definitely showed. There were so many people who shot really good scores. It was awesome to see.
“Jack came out and showed what he can do and really trusted the process. Shooting 294 is a ridiculous feat. It’s one of the highest HOA scores I’ve ever heard of. It’s really cool to see him be able to achieve that.”
The Kimberly, Idaho, native Nelson led the way for a group of 21 Bulldogs who made the trip south. Nelson shot 98 in each of the three disciplines at the Waco Invite: American skeet, trap and sporting clays. Not only did Nelson come away with the HOA title, he also placed first in sporting clays. He received hardware for both winning efforts.
As a team, the Bulldogs placed third in trap (485), third in sporting clays (464) and tied for third in skeet (479). Overall team champion Fort Hays State University took the top spot in each of those events. Concordia competed closely with the likes of Schreiner University and Wester Oklahoma State College across the board.
The HOA team scores were determined by separately using the top five scores for each squad in the three disciplines. In skeet, Buchannan Tietjen equaled Nelson with a 98 (tied for fourth best in the field). Eleven Bulldogs posted skeet scores in the 90s. Another 13 hit 90-plus in trap and seven did so in sporting clays. The top five Concordia HOA totals, following Nelson, were turned in by Tietjen (286), Devin Harris (282), Ames Andelt (280) and Sam Blevins and Wayne Moore with 278 apiece. The top Bulldog females were Claire Kee (273) and Katie Welker (270).
Said Owens, “I was really proud of Brycen (Dumke). This was his best competition of the season. He put up qualifying scores in all three events. We currently have 13 people qualified for nationals. We have seven more spots, so we’ll see how it ends up at Doane (in the spring). I’d like to fill them all.”
Top five Bulldogs by event
Skeet
1. Jack Nelson – 98
1. Buchannan Tietjen – 98
3. Wayne Moore – 95
4. Ames Andelt – 94
4. Sam Blevins – 94
4. Devin Harris – 94
4. Brennen Stones – 94
Trap
1. Jack Nelson – 98
1. Sam Blevins – 98
3. Wayne Moore – 97
4. Ames Andelt – 96
4. Buchannan Tietjen – 96
4. Katie Welker – 96
Sporting Clays
1. Jack Nelson – 98
2. Devin Harris – 93
3. Buchannan Tietjen – 92
4. Brayden Tosh – 91
5. Ames Andelt – 90
5. Claire Kee – 90
5. Cael Washburn – 90
The 2023-24 season will resume in the spring of 2024 with the Doane Tiger Invitational (March 9-10). That event will lead into the 2024 ACUI National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, later in March.