The Simpson shooting sports team placed well in the Association of College Unions International Super Shoot in Nashville, Tenn. 

Molly Sheehan, a junior team co-captain, topped the overall finishers, placing first in the international high overall points of the skeet and bunker trap disciplines with her combined total score of 167 points. She finished first place in the international skeet competition with a score of 97 out of 100, and sixth in international trap.

“I was really excited because winning an event after practicing it for eight years, and being able to outshoot a lot of other college students, feels really good,” Sheehan said. “I also had to move on because we did have four more events to shoot that weekend. It was a morale booster for everyone on a team as well. The team is like a family, we’re all happy and excited for one another and ready to go into the rest of the weekend.”

Finishing out the weekend, Sheehan placed third in super sporting clays, hitting 42 of 50 targets. She also finished fourth in skeet, hitting 95 of 100 targets.

Sheehan finished 13th in sporting clays and 34th in trap to place her 14th in the high overall points standings.

“My mindset was on helping my teammates the best that I could because many were shooting a new discipline. A lot of the first-year college shooters on the team had not really seen bunker trap, which is the Olympic discipline,” Sheehan said. “Personally, I have competed in that discipline prior, so I was more prepared to help them and be in the coaching mindset. When it came time to shoot my rounds, I pushed it out of my brain so I could focus on my target and I think it helped me get into a good mindset that I was able to just power through and see what I needed to shoot.”

Outside of Sheehan, the rest of the team performed well also.

In the international bunker trap, Jenna Kinch placed 11th, Kylie Tierney placed 12th, Anna Lopez 13th and Olivia Collins placed 14th for the women. 

For the men, in international skeet, Kyle Myers placed 19th. For international bunker trap Patrick Long-Quian placed 10th, Wyatt Heisterkamp placed 11th, Tristan Jensen 13th and Myers finished 15th. For international high overall points, Myers placed fifth. 

In the four American events, as well as Sheehan’s top finishes, the team placed in the top 25. In skeet, Myers placed 28th for the men. In sporting clays, Tierney placed 20th, Tori Barksdale placed 21st for the women and Myers in 16th for the men. In super sporting clays, Tierney placed 26th, Lopez placed 27th  and Myers placed 14th. In trap, Tierney placed 22nd for the women and Myers in 21st for the men.

In American events high overall points, Lopez placed 25th and Tierney placed 26th, along with Sheehan. For the men, Myers placed 14th. 

“I am really looking forward to competing with the team in the spring because everyone is able to be more comfortable competing after adjusting to college shooting in the fall,” Sheehan said. “Personally, I’m excited to keep working towards my goal, shooting the best that I can in all the disciplines versus just focusing on one. I’m hoping to continue success for myself and as a team too.”

Looking to Nationals this spring, Sheehan is shooting for a high overall award, as well as hoping to have the team place high as well. 

The Storm will start the spring season by hosting the Snowstorm Shootout on Feb. 29 at New Pioneer Gun Club in Waukee.