{"id":50848,"date":"2026-04-16T07:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=50848"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:14:13","slug":"wayne-trace-debuts-first-ever-clay-target-shooting-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wayne-trace-debuts-first-ever-clay-target-shooting-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Trace Debuts First-Ever Clay Target Shooting Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1366\" height=\"611\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WT-Clay-Shooting-Team.jpg?fit=1366%2C611&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50849\" style=\"width:555px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WT-Clay-Shooting-Team.jpg?w=1366&amp;ssl=1 1366w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WT-Clay-Shooting-Team.jpg?resize=768%2C344&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Wayne Trace High School has added a new sport to its extracurricular lineup with the introduction of its inaugural clay target shooting team. Fourteen students make up the first roster, making a significant milestone for the school as interest in youth shooting sports continues to grow statewide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The team began practices on March 31, 2026 at the Paulding Co. Fish and Game Club, where students train in marksmanship, fundamentals, consistency, and safe firearm handling. Before participating in live-fire sessions, all members completed a detailed hunter\u2019s safety program covering equipment use, range procedures, and responsible conduct. Coaches emphasize that safety remains the central focus of every practice and competition. Coach Mike Schnipke said the team is approaching its first season with a clear mindset, noting \u201cProverbs 4:25 says Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. For the team, this means stay focused, be safe, have fun, and let go busting some pottery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Clay target shooting offers students a unique athletic experience, blending precision, concentration, and mental discipline. The sport welcomes participants with varying levels of experience and Wayne Trace\u2019s first group reflects that diversity. The team includes seasoned recreational shooters to students trying the activity for the first time. Making up the team is one senior, five juniors, five sophomores, and three freshmen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Throughout the season, Wayne Trace will compete in the Ohio High School Clay Target League. Teams across the state participate in weekly virtual competitions, submitting scores electronically before having an opportunity to advancing to a state tournament in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The community views the new program as an important addition to the school\u2019s offerings, providing students with another meaningful way to engage in athletics and represent their community. With 14 members setting the foundation, Wayne Trace\u2019s clay target shooting team begins its debut season with momentum and the potential to build a lasting tradition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wayne Trace High School has added a new sport to its extracurricular lineup with the introduction of its inaugural clay<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":50849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,5],"tags":[28694,28693,28692,5916],"class_list":["post-50848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-school","category-sports","tag-mike-schnipke","tag-ohio-high-school-clay-target-league","tag-paulding-co-fish-and-game-club","tag-wayne-trace-high-school"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WT-Clay-Shooting-Team.jpg?fit=1366%2C611&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-de8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 18:42:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50850,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50848\/revisions\/50850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}