We are excited to announce this year’s overall champions in the shotgun project. Overall champions were determined by a cumulative score of the three disciplines in shotgun, skeet, trap, and sporting clays. SC 4-H is extremely proud of these youth and their accomplishments. They worked very hard for these achievements. The following youth are the 2021 State Champions in their respective divisions:
Rookie – (5th Grade) – TJ Knight
TJ Knight is an 11-year-old 5th grader from Winnsboro, South Carolina. He began shooting SCTP/4-H with Fairfield Gun Club for the 2020/2021 Season with Head Coach, John Tate. His hobbies include hunting, fishing and shooting any event he can. He started shooting Sporting Clays with a private club at the age of 8. He wanted to shoot with a 4-H SCTP Team to be introduced to Skeet, Trap, and Super Sporting Clays. Fairfield Gun Club took him in with all Jr Varsity Shooters which gave him higher goals to reach.
Intermediate – Entry – (6th-8th Grade) – Quaid Busby
Quaid Busby is a 6th grader at Starr Iva Middle School. This is his 2nd year shooting for the Crescent Elite Shooters. In these two short years, Quaid has won multiple awards at the state level, has competed on the National SCTP stage in Ohio, and has been a true team player. He is a very smart, respectful young man that is very passionate about shooting sports. Quaid lives on a cattle farm in Anderson County where he also pursues his other passions in life, hunting and fishing. Quaid always has a smile on his face and is willing to do whatever is best for his team.
Intermediate-Advanced – (6th-8th Grade) – Alex Kopek
Alex started shooting in 2019 when he joined the Cardinal Newman HS Sporting Clays Team as a 7th grader. Alex has always enjoyed hunting, fishing, and golf, but when he found shooting sports, he found his passion. No matter the discipline, trap, skeet, or sporting clays, you can count on Alex to finish at the top. He finished his first year as one of the top shooters in his division and this year he was named the top combined shooter in the Intermediate Advanced division. Alex plans to continue honing his skills as a shooter so that he might one day shoot at the collegiate level.
Junior Varsity – (9th-12th Grade) – Ann Weathers Blankenship
Ann Weathers Blankenship is a member of Featherhorn Young Guns. She is a rising sophomore from Sumter, SC. Ann Weathers started youth shooting in 6th grade for her school team before becoming involved in SCTP/4-H with Featherhorn the following year. She enjoys all disciplines of shotgun sports, but her favorite is sporting clays. Ann Weathers balances youth competitions with a heavy NSCA tournament schedule which takes her to many interesting places. Her most cherished aspect of shooting sports is the network of friends from around the world she has made through the sport who have become like family. Ann Weathers is forever grateful to her family, her teammates, and youth shooting programs such as SCTP/4-H for providing opportunities that have helped her grow as a competitor, a friend, and a person.
Senior Varsity – (9th-12th Grade) – Turner Parcell
Turner Parcell is a member of the Mid-Carolina 4-H Shooting team in Orangeburg, SC. He is a rising Junior attending Hammond School in Columbia. At 12 years old, Turner started shooting sporting clays. His gun of choice is a Beretta 694 with Rhino chokes. He loves to see the clay break whether he is shooting trap, skeet, or his favorite sporting clays. He has shot in SCTP for the last 4 years, competing on both the state and national level winning 2018 Intermediate Entry SC State HOA, 2019 Intermediate Advanced SC State HOA Runner-Up, 2019 Intermediate Divisions National HOA, 2020 Junior Varsity SC State HOA, 2020 Senior Division National HOA Runner-Up, and 2021 Varsity SC State HOA. He is also a two-time NSCA All-American and the 2021 NSCA Sub-Junior All-American Team Captain. Academics is an important focus for him as well. He is a National Honor Society member and is a two-time SCTP All-Scholastic Shooting Team member.
Ladies Intermediate – (6th-8th Grade) – Anneleise Phinney
Anneleise Phinney is a member of the Partridge Creek Young Guns. She lives in St. George, South Carolina, and is going into the 9th grade at Pinewood Prep School. At Pinewood Prep, Anneleise is a 5-year letterman (3 tennis and 2 sporting clays shooting teams) and on the Academic Headmaster’s List. She enjoys serving on her school’s house council leadership team and also playing the piano in her spare time. Anneleise started shooting about two years ago and fell in love from the second she first pulled the trigger. She didn’t do very well in her first competition, but she tried her hardest. John F. Kennedy once said, “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” Being part of the Partridge Creek Young Guns has shown her how to become a better leader and never give up. Her favorite discipline in shooting is skeet, and she has over 6,000 registered NSSA targets and she is a certified NSSA referee. Anneleise loves shooting and hopes to continue to shoot for the rest of her life.
Ladies Senior – (9th-12 Grade) – Hannah Sealy
Hannah lives in Sandy Run, SC. She is on the Mid-Carolina Young Guns team and is a 2021 graduate of Ben Lippen high school. Hannah graduated with a 4.69 GPA and served on the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the National Honor Society. Hannah began shooting 3 years ago and she plans to continue shooting with the Montreat College Clay Target team.
Submitted by: Richard Willey, South Carolina Shooting Sports Coordinator
