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\u201cWe didn\u2019t just compete as individuals,\u201d said sophomore Clayton Dill. \u201cWe competed for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That spirit drove them through six events\u2014trap, skeet, and sporting clays, doubles trap, doubles skeet, and super sporting\u2014and six intense shoot\u2011offs, five of which the Mountaineers won. Every time an EOU shooter stepped to the line, teammates gathered behind them, offering encouragement, quiet focus, and a reminder that no one stood alone on the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rising to the Moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The championship weekend marked the high point of a season defined by grit and growth. Eli Tolfesson, an online student from Ohio, clinched the overall men\u2019s title, and freshman Ashley Huff finished second overall in the women\u2019s division. Savannah Shorts won the women\u2019s sporting\u2011clays event, and her sister, Makenna Shorts, took first in women\u2019s trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur team went down to Las Vegas and showed up in every event,\u201d said head coach John Shorts. \u201cWe won first place in trap as a team and swept the podium in men\u2019s trap with first, second, and third.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coach Shorts leads both the EOU and the La Grande High School squads and has daughters on both teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coaching from Within<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Unlike other sports, shotgun competition requires coaches to step back once shooting begins. On the range, athletes coach one another. A shaky stance or a mistimed shot doesn\u2019t go unnoticed; it gets corrected by a teammate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf someone\u2019s struggling, we step in,\u201d said sophomore Makenna Shorts, now a veteran leader. \u201cWe know each other\u2019s rhythms. We coach each other mid\u2011competition. That\u2019s what makes this team special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scoring works like track and field: officials add the top individual scores to determine the team ranking. That format raises the stakes for every shooter and deepens everyone\u2019s sense of shared responsibility<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_7763.jpg\")
A Bridge to the Past<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Long before the Mountaineers captured medals in Las Vegas, Jim Cash was stepping up to the line at competitions across the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 1971 graduate of EOU and La Grande native, Cash joined the college\u2019s rifle team in the 1960s, coaching teammates in gun safety and marksmanship before leaving to serve in the U.S. Air Force. He returned to EOU as a student under the GI Bill and rejoined the rifle team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re competing, you\u2019re under a lot of pressure,\u201d Cash said. \u201cYou learn how to breathe, not get into a hurry. It teaches you to relax and focus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cash remembers the rifle range on campus fondly, recalling weekend practices and matches in La Grande. Though he no longer shoots, his memories of the rifle team and the values it instilled have stayed with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a lot of fun,\u201d he said. \u201cI think about the rifle club at Eastern all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Range<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For today’s athletes, shooting is more than a sport; it\u2019s a mindset. They talk about it as a way to build discipline, stay focused, and manage pressure, both on and off the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShooting is a mental game,\u201d said freshman Nick McLaughlin. \u201cYou learn to keep your nerves in check and trust your training. That carries over into the classroom, especially during tests or presentations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being part of a team like Shotgun Sports builds confidence in subtle ways. Members of the team agree that the same focus they bring to competition helps them feel prepared for everyday challenges\u2014whether that\u2019s public speaking, managing classes, or stepping into leadership roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research backs that up. A University of Kansas study found that student-athletes tend to have better attendance, higher graduation rates, and a lower risk of dropping out compared to their<\/p>\n\n\n\n
non-athlete peers. Feeling connected to a team and part of something bigger than yourself can make a real difference. At EOU, being part of this team teaches commitment, time management, and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat pushes me to stay on top of my schoolwork and balance practice, classes, and everything else,\u201d McLaughlin said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eyes on Nationals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the West Coast title behind them, the Mountaineers now set their sights on the ACUI National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, where more than 100 teams and 1,000 shooters will compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Win or lose, they\u2019ll carry something more valuable than medals: trust, focus, and the quiet confidence that comes from knowing they never face challenges alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know what we\u2019re capable of,\u201d Coach Shorts said. \u201cNow it\u2019s time to prove it\u2014on the range and in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_7815.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ\u2019s Shotgun Sports team not only showed up in Las Vegas, Nev., but were on target. Facing much larger programs such as Arizona State, Colorado State, and Boise State, the Mountaineers captured two team titles and 19 medals at this year\u2019s West Coast Championship. Their performance exemplified what happens when athletes put the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":491,"featured_media":2682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-2633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-2025","tag-athletics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2689,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633\/revisions\/2689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}