Photo by Deb Gau Bill Mulso pointed out the area high school teams taking part in the first SMSU High School Trap Shooting Tournament to Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith. A total of 50 students from five schools competed at the tournament.

MARSHALL — The competition was special in a few ways, the people gathered at Shooters Sporting Clays on Friday morning said.

For one, the Southwest Minnesota State University High School Trap Shoot was the first of its kind. The tournament also made its debut as part of the celebrations around the Governor’s Pheasant Opener. But most importantly, it brought together young target shooters who didn’t usually get the chance to compete with each other.

“It’s really cool,” Marshall High School student Ben Leek said of the shoot. “It’s kind of fun to meet kids from nearby schools.”

“This one’s more local, so it’s teams you know,” said Austin Naab, a trap shooter on the Lakeview High School team.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith also made an appearance at the competition, and spoke to area high school students during the awards ceremony.

“It’s such a great privilege for me to be here,” Smith told students. “You are part of the fastest-growing high school sport in the state.”

There are now more than 11,000 youth trap shooters competing in Minnesota, Smith said.

The tournament was organized to go along with the Governor’s Pheasant Opener, said Bill Mulso, vice president for advancement at SMSU.

“We were looking for an event to engage the youth this weekend,” Mulso said. Trap shooting not only fit that idea but was a growing sport for Minnesota high school students.

“It’s amazing how the sport has grown,” Smith said. The fact that it encourages students to connect with the outdoors is a positive thing, she said.

A total of 50 youth trap shooters took part in Friday’s shoot, Mulso said. E.C.H.O. Charter School, Lakeview High School, Marshall High School, Redwood Valley High School, and Wabasso High School each sent two squads of students to compete.

Until now, there haven’t been many opportunities for local high school trap teams to compete together, said Don Atcher, a coach for the MHS trap shooting team. Normally, he said, “We are, all five schools, shooting in different classes.”

Part of the fun of trap shooting is that it’s open to everyone, students said. In trap shooting, team members take turns firing at clay targets, and score points based on the number of targets they hit.

“It’s an individual sport, and it’s a team sport,” said Haley Fuhrmann, who was competing with the E.C.H.O. team.

“People who aren’t really into sports can do it, too,” said Travis Engels, who was competing with the Lakeview team.

“And you can do trap shooting for the rest of your life,” added teammate Brenden Kimpe.

Tournament organizers said they intend to keep the SMSU Trap Shoot going in future years.

At the end of the day, trophies were awarded for the top-scoring male and female individual shooters, and for the top three teams. Ashlyn Doening of Redwood Valley received the girls’ Top Gun award, with a score of 39. Jon Wyffels of Lakeview received the boys’ Top Gun award, with a score of 48.

The Lakeview team of Jon Wyffels, Parker Viane, Travis Engels, Austin Naab and Kyle Beck won first place in the tournament, with a team score of 210. The Marshall team of Dawson Reese, Ben Leek, Nick Atcher, Eric Leach and Karter DeSmet won second place, with a score of 202. The Wabasso team of Carl Swedzinski, Luke Wagner, Josh DePrez, Michael Turbes and Noah Netzke won third place, with a score of 197.