Posted: August 27, 2025
Members of Pennsylvania 4-H, a program of Penn State Extension, participated in several shooting sports contests at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Championship held recently in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Carson Riley
More than 700 4-H youth from across the country competed in compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading, and hunting skills events.
The shooting sports program offers a positive and safe environment for youths who enjoy the outdoors and hunting. The program covers best practices in the responsible use of firearms and archery equipment under the training and guidance of adult coaches.
"Going to Nebraska to represent Pennsylvania 4-H shooting sports and smallbore rifle was a dream come true," said Carson Riley, a 4-H member from Huntingdon County who competed. "I hope to get the Nebraska experience again for a different discipline."
Stephanie Gauntlett, a 4-H member from Montgomery County, noted that "competing in the 4-H National Shooting Sports Championships was the highlight of my 4-H air rifle journey."
The competition is designed to challenge a 4-H member’s skills and knowledge and to recognize demonstrated safety, abilities, marksmanship, and concentration.
In the contests, participants competed in air pistol, air rifle, archery, smallbore rifle, muzzleloader, and shotgun. The following are Pennsylvania 4-H'ers and their highest placings:
Air Rifle: In the silhouette shooting category, Stephanie Gauntlett tied for 17th out of 87. In the standing shooting category, she placed 32nd. In the three-position category, she ranked 31st.
Air Pistol: In the rapid-fire category, John Bruner, of Indiana County, placed 27th out of 73. In the silhouette shooting category, he tied for 17th. He also competed in the slow fire category.
In addition, Bruner was selected as a recipient of the Tom Knapp Scholarship, a $2,500 award. He is the first 4-H'er from Pennsylvania to receive this honor.
Compound Archery: In the field shooting category, Ronin Calsam, of Montgomery County, tied for 27th out of 123. In the Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc, or FITA, shooting category, he placed 28th. In the 3D shooting category, he ranked 43rd.
In the field shooting category, Alyssa Anderson, of Westmoreland County, tied for 29th out of 123. In the FITA shooting category, she placed 54th. In the 3D shooting category, she ranked 19th.
In the field shooting category, Makenzie Williams, of Erie County, tied for 48th out of 123. In the 3D shooting category, she ranked 26th. She also competed in the FITA shooting category.
In the field shooting category, Carter Rea, of Erie County, tied for 30th out of 123. In the 3D shooting category, he ranked 32nd. He also competed in the FITA shooting category.
The compound archery team's highest team ranking was in the 3D shooting category, finishing 13th out of 31 states.
Smallbore Rifle: Carson Riley's overall individual score earned him 44th place out of 90 contestants. In the three-position shooting category, he finished 14th, and in the silhouette shooting category, he ranked 4th. He also competed in the Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP, shooting category.
Simon Cressman, of Huntingdon County, ranked 21st overall out of 90 contestants. He tied for 12th in both the CMP shooting and silhouette shooting categories. In the three-position shooting category, he placed 23rd.
Lane Sunderland, of Huntingdon County, finished 33rd overall out of 90 contestants. In the CMP shooting category, he tied for 31st. In the three-position shooting category, he placed 21st. In the silhouette shooting category, he tied for 12th.
The smallbore rifle team overall placed 11th out of 22 competing state teams. The team finished 6th in the three-position shooting category and 8th in the silhouette shooting category.
Muzzleloader: Joulia Wolf, of Blair County, ranked 37th out of 79 participants in the 25-yard novelty category and tied for 6th in the silhouette category.
Shotgun: In the trap shooting category, Karston Williams, of Greene County, ranked 18th out of 115. He also participated in the sporting clays shooting category and the skeet shooting competition.
"4-H Nationals is a much different experience than what we have here in Pennsylvania," Joulia Wolf said. "Hundreds of competitors from across the nation are present. I made friendships with peers I never would have met otherwise, and we keep in touch today. Best of all was sharing stories about our hometowns and ambitions — hearing different perspectives not only broadened my own outlook but reminded me of how vast America truly is."
Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a nonformal educational youth-development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that helps young people develop knowledge and skills to become capable, caring, and contributing citizens. To find your local program, visit the Pennsylvania 4-H website.
