Purdue News

October 6, 2000 Purdue trap team wins 16th consecutive world championship WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue trapshooters continued their winning tradition at the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship, winning their 16th consecutive Collegiate World Championship in August. Purdue entered teams in both collegiate division championships – the club championship and the open championship. Club teams are composed of team members from the same university, while open teams have members from several universities. Purdue's club team won the Club World Championship while the open team was Runner-Up World Champion in the open division. Purdue trap and skeet teams and individuals have now won a total of 90 national and world championships. The Purdue Trap and Skeet Club was chartered in 1977. The Grand American World Trapshooting Championships is to trapshooting what the World Series is to baseball. It is the largest shooting event in the world. Each August, the Amateur Trapshooting Association holds the world championships at its headquarters in Vandalia, Ohio. Nearly 35,000 trapshooters from around the world compete in the various trap events each year. Purdue's club team broke 468 of 500 targets to win the Club World Championship. Justin E. Rich, New Castle, Ind., a junior in management, led the squad's scoring by missing only one of his 100 targets. John P. Weida, West Lafayette, a sophomore in management, shot the second-highest score, hitting 93 of 100 targets. The other three members of Purdue's club team all earned a score of 92 of 100. These shooters were: Jason M. Livengood, a senior in building construction management from Lafayette; Louis J. Shultz, a junior in history from Harrison, Ohio; and Jamie R. Weida, a senior in building construction management from West Lafayette. Purdue's open team scored a total of 472, eight targets behind the open championship team. The top three scores were: T.J. Arvis, an August management graduate from Albuquerque, N.M., 98/100; Robert M. Paul, an Indiana University student, 97/100; and Eric. C Weikum, a sophomore in building construction management from Naperville, Ill., 94/100. Weikum is president of the Purdue Trap and Skeet Club. Nathan Rich, New Castle, Ind., had the fourth-highest score, 92/100. He is a sophomore with a double major in biology and economics. The fifth member of the squad, Jordan B. Myers, a junior in turf science from Hughesville, Penn., scored 91/100. The Purdue Trap and Skeet Club is one of 27 club sports available to Purdue students. The trap and skeet team has been the collegiate national champion for the past five years, winning the Association of College Unions International Clay Target Championships in San Antonio, Texas, each year since 1996. This year, three Purdue trap and skeet shooters were named to the National Rifle Association's All-American Team. The shooters were Archie Alexander, a senior in civil engineering from West Lafayette; Arvis; and Andy Suda, an August graduate in mechanical engineering from Grafton, N.D. Purdue now has had 14 shooters named NRA Collegiate All-Americans. CONTACT: Arch Alexander, coach and faculty advisor, (765) 494-2459; Charles Rhykerd, former coach and faculty advisor, (765) 463-6486. To the Purdue News and Photos Page