Submitted Photo Members of the Minot State University Trap Shooting Club pose for a photo following a team event at the Minot Gun Club. Pictured, from left, are Lane Evanson, Bailey Upgren, Trinity Boivin, Peyton Lammerding, Kaile Nodland, Ryan Kostenko, Logan Dosko, Tayton Vondra, Kirstin Nelson and Dakota McGee.

College trap shooting is still in its infancy at Minot State University.

According to Lane Evenson and Bailey Upgren, the sky is the limit for the Minot State University (MSU) Trap Shooting Club.

The talented duo is a big reason why.

“I’m excited for this season and I’m excited to go to the shoots we’re going to go to as a team.” said Upgren. “It’s already been a good season. We have experienced people at the club and some who are new to shooting, and that makes it fun to be part of this new group. It’s been very exciting to be at the forefront of this club,” he said. Evanson added. “We’ve been more consistent this year and we hope to continue that. It’s exciting to go to events as a full team, suit up and represent Minot State.”

Evenson and Upgren are juniors at Minot State studying computer science and early childhood education, respectively. But their paths to MSU and trap shooting for the Beavers couldn’t have been more different.

Evanson, the club’s president this year and an early proponent of bringing trap shooting to MSU, started at Minot State University after high school and graduated from Berthold High School. After arriving at MSU, he inquired about starting a club to continue a successful high school career.

“I started in seventh grade, so at a very early age, I had the opportunity to shoot in all kinds of competitions around the state and even in Wisconsin and Michigan.” said Evanson. “I was lucky enough to shoot at nationals a few times. When I visited Minot State I asked, what is the process for starting a club? I had heard rumors of interest, but I wasn’t sure. We started it last year and I think there were seven of us. I was elected president and have been working to grow it ever since.

As for Upgren, he attended Bismarck State College after high school, and as part of his decision to attend, he looked for a school where trap shooting was practiced. After completing his two years of study at BSC, he sought out trap shooting again to complete his degree in early childhood education.

He had scheduled two tours when selecting a school, but canceled his second tour after visiting Minot State.

“There’s only two people in the state that have what I want, so I thought I’d check them both out, but after touring here and meeting with Lane and some of the other people on the team and the early childhood education department, I literally canceled my next trip back home,” she said. said Upgren. “It was exciting to see the direction the new team was going and learning about the club made my decision to transfer much easier.”

Club advisor Paul Brekke, director of the Minot State Wellness Center, credits the duo with helping the club improve significantly.

“The club is starting its second year of existence and is starting to work out some of the details as we go along.” Brekke said. “Students are happy to have the opportunity to participate and want to see it grow. Lane and Bailey have great experience in the sport which will help the club develop and grow.”

Although their paths to MSU were different, the beginnings of trap shooting were similar. Both grew up hunting and were familiar with shooting sports. For Upgren, the transition from hunting to competing was a learning curve, but something he fell in love with.

“I had a little difficulty with technique because I’m left-handed and shoot with my right hand.” said Upgren. “I had a friend in high school who was very good at skeet shooting and he convinced me to come out. In my senior year, it was something I really loved doing and I know I will always want to be involved.”

Evanson credits his father with getting him interested in trap shooting.

“My dad taught me first, and he coached me and worked with me throughout high school.” said Evanson. “It really helped me get better at shooting in trap and events, and I ended up really finding a passion for it.”

Both Evanson and Upgren believe you need a passion for the sport, especially when pursuing it at the college club level, where nearly all of the practices and competitions are student-organized. Along with Brekke, MSU has a part-time coach named Jake Thrailkill, but he mostly relies on students to run the club.

“I hope to see the program grow so we can add more coaches and more structure, but it was a great program to start with.” said Evanson. “We now have a coach who helps us a lot and Paul is great to work with; We truly appreciate both. “But we hope to have more coaches in the future that will give us more opportunities to succeed and grow as pitchers.”

“We do tons of schedules and workouts to go to practices or shoots; “There isn’t necessarily a coach or anyone forcing us to train.” Upgren said. “You have to be self-motivated to be able to go to shoots on your own, and honestly, there are a lot of characters involved in recording your scores and all that.”

Growth of the club will require work from current members, but the duo both witnessed growth at their local club while in high school and see tremendous potential for MSU.

“There are so many people I know who are into shooting sports, there are tons of shooters coming out of high schools in the Bismarck area.” said Upgren. “Having this club will only attract more people to MSU, and we hope to pave the way for this to be a fun and exciting club to be a part of.”

They both know there is potential for growth in society.

“We are working on some fundraisers and ways to get our name out in the community.” said Evanson. “We even try to volunteer in the community because we think community is everything. “To be successful, you have to have the community behind you.”

While the pair have been integral to the club’s success, Evanson also believes the entire group has pitched in to make this year a success.

“It’s all hands on deck as this club is still in its infancy.” said Evanson. “Everyone has a role to play to help it grow and connect more with the community. What they do for the club is incredibly important.”

MSU’s fall roster includes Trinity Boivin, Holter Bridwell, Logan Dosko, Ryan Kostenko, Peyton Lammerding, Mason Lemer, Dakota McGee, Kirstin Nelson, Kaile Nodland, Hadyn Schuler and Tayton Vondra, along with Evanson and Upgren.