By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
ARCADIA – The Okarche sporting clays team placed sixth last week at the 2019 FFA Sports Clays State Championship at the Oklahoma City Gun Club in Arcadia.
Ty Smith, Carson Baustert, Justin Williams and Nathon Mayhew, along with coach Cody Dean, competed against shooters and teams from across the state after placing fourth at the regional competition the week prior.
Each shooter posted three scores for an accumulative total towards each team score. Smith led the Warriors shooters with 14 points, Baustert posted 13, Williams posted 12 and Mayhew posted 11. Smith finished 14th individually, Baustert finished 36th, Williams finished 43rd and Mayhew finished 53rd.
The Warriors posted a team score of 39 points, just 10 behind state champion Woodward who scored 49. Luther finished second overall with 45 points while Westville finished third with 44. Hydro Eakly, Spiro, Okarche, Cache, Noble, Cherokee and Valliant made up the top-10.
“It’s great to see the efforts of a student’s labor come to fruition with a top-10 finish at state,” Dean said. “It is humbling as an educator and I’m thankful that I got to see their success.
“The team definitely wouldn’t have finished as well as they did if it wouldn’t have been for the parents and volunteers. They are the ones that deserve a lot of credit. They worked with the students on everything from proper techniques to just reps with a shotgun. I’m extremely grateful for their involvement and the help they provide throughout the season.”
Dean also sees a bright future for all four of the team’s competitors.
“They’ve all four participated in this contest for years and have been competitive,” he said.
“They were great leaders and I expect the next group to step up and take over in terms of leadership for the future.”
