After an incredibly successful year of shooting, the Hillsdale College Shotgun Team finished the season with the biggest possible win: the ACUI/SCTP Division II High Overall Team National Championship. Taking place at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio from March 19-23, the competition featured 1,150 athletes from 107 different schools, 20 of which were teams competing in Division II.
This is the Chargers’ first victory in Division II (teams with 11-20 athletes competing) following a total of seven wins in Division III since the program’s inception.
Hillsdale began the match strong, breaking 497 out of a total 500 targets in American Skeet. Junior Joshua Corbin and freshman Madeline Corbin both broke perfect 100-straights with 99s contributed by sophomore Davis Hay, freshman Ava Downs, and senior Ida Brown. Madeline Corbin earned her first of many individual National Championships by placing first in the women’s category with Brown earning runner-up after a shoot-off. The team’s score tied for the highest of any team at the shoot but ended up falling to third place in Division II after a shoot-off with Fort Hays State University and Georgia Southern University.
Next up on the same day was Skeet Doubles. Hillsdale again stood strong, this time with 486/500 targets broken. This was the highest score of any Division II school (besting Emmanuel College by 5 birds) and third overall at the shoot behind Lindenwood University and William Penn University. Madeline Corbin earned her second individual women’s National Championship after breaking 99/100. Sophomore Jordan Sapp’s score of 98 earned him men’s third place after an intense shoot-off. Rounding out Hillsdale’s score were Joshua Corbin (97), sophomore Leif Andersen (96), and junior Gavin Drill (96).
Wednesday began with American Trap. Hillsdale athletes broke 498/500 to secure first place in Division II and second overall. Perfect scores were contributed by senior Jackson Sokel, Madeline Corbin (who earned her third women’s National Championship), and senior Jessica Strasser (1st place women’s A Class). Four Chargers tied with near-perfect 99s: senior William Stuart, Downs (who took women’s third place), junior Jonathan Calabrese, and freshman Luke Johnson.
The Chargers’ most impressive showing was in Super Sporting. They broke 486/500 targets to earn not only first place in Division II, but also the highest score of any team at the competition regardless of division. They topped Texas A&M University, Midland University, and Lindenwood by just two targets. Downs, Sapp, and Joshua Corbin all hit an impressive 98 targets with the former earning first place in women’s B Class. Johnson and Calabrese’s scores of 96 filled out the remainder of the team score.
The final day of the competition began with Trap Doubles. Stuart broke an impressive 98/100 and earned himself men’s runner-up after a three-way shootoff. Johnson and Strasser both hit 97 targets. Three Chargers broke 96’s: Joshua Corbin, Madeline Corbin, and Calabrese. Hillsdale’s score of 484/500 was the highest of any Division II school (only one ahead of University of Tennessee Southern) and the second highest of any program. Madeline Corbin took women’s first with Strasser taking first in women’s A Class due to a quirk in classification rules.
Hillsdale’s final event was sporting clays. Joshua Corbin (94), Calabrese (92), Andersen (91), Brown (87), and a tie between Strasser, Sapp, and Johnson at 84 put together a team score of 448. Brown earned third place women’s A Class.
“We shot well all week. If one person had a down event, there were two others that stepped up and performed,” head coach Jordan Hintz said. “Our team’s depth is exceptional.”
Hitting 2899/3000 total team targets, Hillsdale was awarded the coveted Division II High Overall Team trophy. They finished ahead of University of Tennessee Southern by nine targets and third-place Midland by 14. This team score was beaten only by two teams: Lindenwood and Texas A&M, teams which featured more than 40 and 30 competitors respectively. Josh Corbin dominated an HOA shootoff to earn runner-up overall individual while Madeline Corbin took third women’s HOA. Both were honored as All Americans along with nine other Chargers: Jonathan Calabrese, Jordan Sapp, Leif Andersen, Luke Johnson, Will Stuart, Ava Downs, Jessie Strasser, Ida Brown, and Jackson Sokel. Strasser was awarded the women’s Combined Trap National Championship while Madeline Corbin won women’s Combined Skeet, Combined Doubles, and Combined Singles.
“This was an incredible shoot, especially for our ladies, freshman, and seniors,” Hintz said. “Division II continues to prove itself as by far the most competitive in the sport, but our team was prepared. This will go down as one of the finest performances in our history and we won’t let the excitement of the huge win slow us down in our preparations for 2025.”
