Eleven-year-old Jaden Grimes a Putnam county fifth grade student was following his older brother Jordan’s example when he was awarded with two shooting medals at the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Team Championships in Sparta, Illinois on July 13-16.

His thirteen-year old brother Jordan, a Putnam county eigth grader had brought home a shooting trophy from the Georgia 4-H State Championships back in May where he finished in third place shooting trap on the Putnam County 4-H shooting team.

The brothers are members of the Lake Oconee Shotgun Team and were among 24 members of that club that competed in the SCTP National Team Championships. Jaden was a member of a three-boy squad that also included Aaron Copeland and Nash Sinclair.

Their team collected two medals each for finishing in third place in the Sporting Clays Rookie category and a second place finish in the Rookie Skeet shooting category. Overall Jaden placed 24th and scored 115 in the Sporting Clays and placed 19th and scored 118 in Skeet shooting.

Jaden’s brother Jordan also traveled to the SCTP championships and scored 135 in the Intermediate Division / Advance Sporting Clays category and 165 in the Intermediate Division / Advance Skeet shooting category. Quite a finish for these two young brothers considering that there were 130 teams comprising 1,569 boys and girls from all across America competing in the event.

Jaden and Jordan’s father Trae Grimes is a coach on the Lake Oconee Shotgun Team and heads the RA’s (Royal Ambassadors) boys group at Northside Baptist Church in Milledgeville were the family attends church.

Jaden’s teammate Aaron Copeland finished in 2nd place overall with a score of 164 in the Rookie Skeet shooting category and teammate Nash Sinclair finished in 4th place overall with a score of 150 in the Rookie Sporting Clays category.

Other notable high individual finishes for boys on the Lake Oconee Shotgun Club included Victor Shepherd with a 6th place finish and a score of 146 in the Intermediate Division / Entry Sporting Clays category and Brandon Samples with a 3rd place finish and a score of 188 in the Intermediate Division / Advanced Skeet shooting category. Team member A. Jordan Lane finished 6th with a score of 167 in the girls Senior Division / Varsity Skeet shooting category.

High finishes in the Team category included a 4th place finish in the Senior Division / Varsity Sporting Clays category for teammates Clay Porter, Troy Crisp, and Chance Moss. Teammates Hunter Hyatt, Jesse Patterson, and Luke Johnson finished in 3rd place in the Senior Division / Junior Varsity Sporting Clays category.

The team of Brandon Samples, Jasper D. Copeland, and R. Taylor Lane finished in 5th place in the Intermediate / Advanced Sporting Clays category. In the Skeet shooting category, the team of Brandon Samples, Jasper Copeland and Jordan Grimes finished in 6th place in the Intermediate/Advanced category.       

The head coach of the Lake Oconee Shotgun Team is Sammy McFadden who operates a veterinary clinic in Putnam County. “I am very proud of how our boys and girls performed at the SCTP championships,” McFadden said. “I have a lot of fun working with the kids and teaching them shooting skills.”

“I appreciate the coaches, the parents, and all the businesses that support the team and I especially want to thank the Old Hudson Plantation for providing the team with a place to shoot,” McFadden said. Congratulations to the coaches and all the boys and girls on the Lake Oconee Shotgun Team for such an excellent showing in the SCTP championships in Sparta, Illinois. See you next week.