Colby/Abby sends five members to state tourney

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby/Abbotsford trap team wrapped up their 2025 season with a trip to the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association Complex outside of Nekoosa for the state tournament held on Saturday, June 7. Two members of the team competed in the varsity event, two placed in the junior varsity competition and one competed at the novice level for the co-op squad.

The 2025 season was a bit different for the more experienced members of the coop squad’s team, changing their regular season shooting location to the Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club. However, the change in location did not seem to bother the team too much, as they still found success.

The team placed fourth out of 10 teams in their 1A conference finishing the season with a final score of 697 after five weeks. D.C. Everest managed to take the top spot with a final score of 886, followed by Cashton and Sauk Prairie. While the co-op kept themselves within striking distance after a strong Week 3 where they scored a season-best 173.5 points, they could not quite keep pace down the stretch. However, they held off Necedah to maintain their fourth place position and had some of the top individual performances in the conference.

Tristen Smazal put together the second best overall season in the conference. The junior finished with a final season average of 21.70 per round, which only trailed D.C. Everest’s Cody Hertel’s 21.80 average. Will Hennes was tied for 11th in the conference with an average score of 19.00 and Evan Resech also was in the top-25, coming in 20th with an average of 16.70. Sophie Kulesa was tied for 10th on the girls side with an average of 9.60.

Though the co-op lacked the members to score as a team, Smazal and Hennes still represented the co-op in the men’s varsity competition. Smazal ended up tying for 131st while Hennes tied for 246th in a field of 462 shooters.

Smazal had a solid, consistent day on the range, hitting 45 out of 50 shots in both the first and second sessions. His best round came down the final stretch, where he shot a 24 and ended on a streak of 23 straight hits.

Hennes tied Smazal and Nolt Dommer for the best round of the day. He bounced back from a somewhat slow start to shoot a 24 in his second round of the day. He then finished by shooting for a pair of 21s in the second session.

Dommer and Resech posted the exact same scores in the men’s junior varsity competition, both tying for 55th place in a field of 262 after finishing with a final score of 82. Dommer had an impressive second session, putting forth the best overall session for Colby/Abby by shooting a 47, using rounds of 23 and 24 to rocket up the standings in the second half. Meanwhile, Resech had a more well-rounded day on the range. He started by shooting a pair of 21s in the first session and then concluded his day with his best round by shooting a 22.

Kulesa rounded out the co-op’s results by taking 39th out of 44 shooters in the women’s novice category. She shot a 10 in the second round, her best of the day, and finished with a final score of 35.

PAUSING FOR A TEAM PHOTO - The Colby/Abby trap team took a quick break to take a picture during the Wisconsin Trapshooting state meet. Pictured, left to right, are David Hennes, Sophie Kulesa, Ron Smazal, Evan Resech, Will Hennes, Nolt Dommer, Tristen Smazal, Tom Reinhart, Dan Hederer, Bill Hennes and Carl Jeschke. SUBMITTED PHOTO

RUNNER-UP HONORS - Tristen Smazal earned a medal after placing second overall in the club’s conference for his performance during the regular season.

SUBMITTED PHOTO