Barton County 4-H shooting sports leaders hosted the 12th annual Barton County 4-H Winter Classic on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Expo Complex. There were six counties represented. Barton County placed second as a team. The four team members for Barton County were Parker Smith, Katelyn Reh, Ryan Kohman, and Lake Lyman.
In the 8 to 10 year-old group, the top five placings went to Barton County members: 1st - Parker Dicks; 2nd – Tate Martin; 3rd – Mason Stalcup; 4th - Cayman Rowan. In the 11-13 year-old age group, Dalton Dicks placed 1st, Will Clark placed 2nd, Woodson Corbett placed 4th, Noah Deines placed 5th, Caden Rowan placed 6th and Gus Corbett placed 7th. In the 14-15 year old division, Parker Smith placed 1st, Katelyn Reh placed 2nd, Alivia Bautista placed 4th, Evan Hammond placed 5th and Collin Hammond placed 7th. In the 16 and over age group, Ryan Kohman placed 7th, Lake Lyman placed 8th, Caleb Straub placed 9th and Jace Schwager placed 10th.
The top placing individual in each age group for each position was awarded a gold medal. In the youngest age group, the top placing in prone, standing and kneeling all went to Parker Dicks. In the 11-13 age group, top place in prone was Will Clark, standing and kneeling both went to Dalton Dicks. The top shooters in the 14-15 age group in prone and standing went to Parker Smith. Katelyn Reh was 2nd in kneeling. Ryan Kohman was third in kneeling in the 16 and over age group.
The Archery competition was held in Expo III. This is the first year that the winter meet was not allowed to be a qualifying shoot. Local members were allowed to compete in either the barebow or open discipline.
In the first flight, first place was Colton McPherson, second was Jayla Wyant, third was Jace Reise, fourth was Victoria Luttrel and fifth was Liberty Marsh. Deklin Marsh, Einar Vargas and Elsa Lopez also shot. In the second flight, Woodson Corbett placed first and Colton McPherson placed second.
The 4-H Shooting Sports Program uses the skills and disciplines of shooting to assist young people and their leaders to attain knowledge and develop essential life skills. In learning the rules of firearms safety and safe firearms handling, a young person will learn decision-making, develop an inquiring mind, and acquire and cultivate a knowledge of wildlife and natural resources. They will also learn social interaction and communication skills.
Barton County has a dedicated team of shooting sports leaders who have worked with the 4-H members since October. All shooting sports leaders are certified by attending the state three-day training. Leaders certified in air rifle are John Reh, Jeff Clark, Scott Smith, Steve Schultz, Jim Kohman, Brian Rowan, Frank Ochs, Leland Miller and Pat Streck. Leaders certified in Archery are Dennis Trapp, Roger McPherson, Bill Abrams, and Kathy McGinnis. Mat Wharton serves as the Barton County 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator.
Berny Unruh is the 4-H and Youth Development Extension Agent in Barton County. She is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune. She can be reached at 620-793-1910 or at bunruh@ksu.edu