The Upper Iowa shotgun sports team remained close to home this past weekend as they took part in the Wartburg Invite. The event was hosted by Wartburg College at Cedar Falls Gun Club in Cedar Falls, Iowa and at Crockett Ridge Clays in Ackley, Iowa. Teams from seven different schools competed across the two days.

Each competitor shot 100 targets in three different disciplines with the top five scores counting towards the team's score in each discipline. The teams shot American skeet and trap on Saturday before shooting sporting clays on Sunday. The five athletes with the best combined scores across the three disciplines contributed to the team's high overall average.
 
UIU finished in 5th place with a team HOA of 1,296 out of 1,500 targets. William Penn University finished with the highest overall score at 1,422 and were followed by Wartburg (1,405) and Simpson College (1,341). 
 
The Peacock's best mark of the weekend was in trap as the team finished third with a total of 484/500 targets. Colton Heintz-Kuderer and Gage Witzke led the way with identical scores of 98/100. Connor Gittings (97/100), Jayden Shaw (96/100), and Boe Caplan (95/100) capped off the team's best score in any discipline so far this season.
 
In skeet, UIU as a team hit 452/500 targets. Individually, Heintz-Kuderer led the way with a score of 97/100 while Lucas Riberich was close behind with a score of 95/100. Gittings, Shaw, and Luke Recker also contributed to the team's score.
 
On Sunday, the Peacocks finished with a total score of 360/500 in sporting clays. Riberich's score of 81/100 paced the team, followed by Heintz-Kuderer (76/100) and Gittings (71/100).
 
"It is still early in the season and there is a lot of potential on the team to unlock" said Head Coach Reba Kingsley. "The team improved this weekend, and we are going to keep building off of each practice and competition, breaking more targets each time."
 
Up next, the UIU shotgun sports team will return to Fayette to host Wartburg in a dual tomorrow afternoon.