Hello all,
While this will be posted a few months post, the 2026 Grand American has just finished. It was a great shoot once again with 10 days of fierce competition. The numbers were down slightly, but kept pace reasonably well with previous years. Certainly the economy and some wet weather were to blame, but we did not have the usual blistering heat.
The weekend before, on the other hand, was almost unbearably hot. The Central Zone and AIM Grand were held over the 3-4 days prior to the Grand, and it was some of the most impressively oppressive humidity I have ever experienced. Despite being underwater Saturday morning, Brittany was able to host the Singles with a late start. This produced some great scores, including the Central Zone Singles Champion, Nick Nenne, with 200 and 150 in the shoot off. Wyatt Williams also performed well with a 199, and a Junior Gold sweep with Handicap and Doubles wins Sunday. Noah Goeddel finished the AIM Grand with an event Runner-up finish in the Doubles with one of only 2-100s in the Doubles.
The Grand was filled with great performances by numerous Illinois shooters, too many to mention. But performing at the highest level at the World Championships is worth mentioning. The following Illinois shooters took home hardware at some point during the Grand: Lonny Terzo, Braden Weidner, Wyatt Baine, Patrick Murphy, Kevin Wunder, Ian Lawrence, Kevin Huelsmann, John Upcraft, Coltyn Schutte, Wyatt Williams, Mark Fielder, Larry Norton, Ty Deterding, Steven Margherio, Michael Hathaway, Brian Hezel, Michael Neudecker, Tony Fortino, Randy Cordray, Riley Kaufman, Landon Ufer, Samuel Graceffa, Danny Newport, Richard Samples, Aidan Ireland, John Kraucunas, Paul Cusack, Brooke Weidner, Landon Sievers, Noah Goeddel, Randy Miller, Mike Westjohn, Harold Niebrugge, Greg Hogue, Ron Wolf, Michael Gill, Mason Bartlow, Myron Little, Joseph Bohannon, Larry Brown, Mark Blythe, Nicholas Benkovich, Tony Jones, Drew Beisiegel, Tom Dennis, Kevin Atteberry, Chris Deterding, Brayden Deterding, Austin Kuenstler, Ronnie Ruebhausen (good job Dad), Frank Payne, Justin Dewitt, Kendall Diercks, Samuel Rains, Stanley Crow, Adam Stuckemeyer, Denise Dressler, Robert Randall Jr, Joseph Pearce, Blake Hadley, Daniel Simmons, Billy Wirth, Joe Terzo, Jace Cross, Jerrod Vaupel, Dave McCuan, Jared Coats, Lauren Dunn, Kathy Turpin, Dalton Apple, Mike Dennis, Nick Nenne, and Kenneth Rigler. 73 shooters from Illinois brought home trophies. We have an incredible amount of talent in this state, and it makes me incredibly proud to see those Illinois names on the leaderboard and trophy list. One special shout out to Justin Dewitt for breaking 100 in the Doubles Championship and being in the shoot off with only 10 others for World Champion.
A number of milestones have been reached or will be soon: Joy West, Patrick Murphy, Mason Bartlow, and Landon Sievers with 25k Singles, Randy Redfeairn with 25k Handicap, Lawrence Nemec with 75k Singles, David Peace with 75k Doubles, Dan Staker with 75k Handicap, and Tad Horton and Douglas Porter with 100k combined registered targets.
Now is the time to return home, retool and refocus as the target year turns over on September 1. The Illini Indian events, including the Pow-Wow, are featured heavily in the months of September and October. Make it a point to go to local shoots and support your clubs. The Indian organization is one we are lucky to have to help promote the sport in this state.
Finally, I want to take a moment to recognize an organization that has grown tremendously with a mission I think all shooters can get behind. Many of you have probably seen or heard of Trap Life 24/7 by now. I know personally I was not familiar with their mission at first. Joe and Stephan Terzo, Northern Zone residents (along with occasional troublemaker and Indian Chief scribe Lonny Terzo) created this group to help foster and promote a welcoming environment in the sport of trapshooting. I think most can agree trapshooters are a friendly bunch, but getting started can be intimidating if you don't have a guide or someone to show you the ropes. Their goal is to have a set of shooters, of all ability and experience, to be available to show any shooter the ropes or be open to answer questions. One positive experience is often all it takes to have someone want to come back over and over, but unfortunately one negative experience may turn someone away for good. Having a dedicated group that is invested in being approachable and knowledgeable is a boon for the ATA. We are lucky that they call Illinois home. Check them out on Facebook and Instagram and meet some of their sponsored shooters at shoots around the state and the country. Plus they have some pretty cool swag and merch.
Two articles in, you are probably going to realize I am a bit more verbose than Bill was, but if you like short and sweet, unfortunately you are stuck with me for a while. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything or if there is anything else you would like to hear about in these columns. But for now...
Shoot well, and see you out there
Michael Ruebhausen, MD
Illinois ATA Delegate