Ellsworth Claybreakers

13/07/2026

It's a wrap! The 2026 USA National High School Clay Target League National Championship is in the books.

Carter shot 25-25-23-23 for the championship individual competition (including 50 straight) for a total of 96 out of 100. His final standing was 232rd out of 1800 total individual shooters.

Thanks to everyone who stayed to cheer him on, his coaches, and everyone cheering on from afar. We're looking forward to the 2027 season!

12/07/2026

What a day! The day started out with 1800 individual shooters, of which 400 will move on to the championship round. We are extremely proud of how our Claybreakers shot today.

Carter M - 99 out of 100
Graham B - 95 out of 100
Trevor D - 94 out of 100
Jens C - 94 out of 100
Cameron S - 83 out of 100

The competition was very brutal. Only Carter will be moving on to the championship round. Today, Trevor and Graham earned their 25 straight patches. That makes 5 out of 5 Claybreakers to earn their patches at Nationals this year. Carter also earned a 50 straight patch.

We would like to extend our since thanks to our family, friends, and community for their continued support and encouragement. Without all of you, we would not be here.

Stay tuned for updates!

11/07/2026

The results are in! The Ellsworth Claybreakers did not qualify for the championship round on Sunday. The top 80 teams (out of 234) will move on. We finished in 125th place with a score of 453/500. On a positive note, we did have three "25 straight". Congratulations Carter, Cameron, and Jens. 🏆 We are very proud of this young team and look forward to watching them grow as a team and individuals. Tomorrow is the individual qualifying round. Stay tuned for updates!

BTW - the hotel has not had hot water since we arrived. 🦨
Let's hope we don't stink tomorrow. 😂

10/07/2026

Hello from the USA High School National Clay Target Championship. Yesterday our team practiced before the rain. Today is team competition. The team is eager to shoot. Last night all of the families were able to gather together for a team meal. Stay tuned for updates!

08/06/2026

Photos of our team and squads at state !

08/06/2026

State Tourney Results

2026 was a year of youth! While we did not bring home a team title or individual awards we shot well for a team with only 2 seniors competing at State. Chace Kressin, was our our 2026 leader and a rock in our program the last six seasons. Marshall Funk is a member that never quit working to get better and saved his best day shooting for his last state tournament ! He was in a zone and so fun to see his success.

Each competitor shoots 100 rounds on the day. Our team score is made up of our top 5 scores on the day. Our top 5 scores totaled a 460 good for 17th of 38 schools.

93 - Cooper Moldenhauer (7th grade) (career best)
93 - Carter Moldenhauer (9th grade)
92 - Marshall Funk (12th grade) & 25 Straight (career best)
92 - Jens Christensen (10th grade) (career best)
90 - Katen Achenbach (9th grade) (career best)

Once again the best part of state is being there as team with parents and team members representing our team, our community and our program. For that I cannot be more proud. Thanks to coaches Jesse Thurmes, MIke Moldenhauer, Chris Kilness and Lee Wright and all the parents that were amazing with set up and tear down and getting their athletes to the right spots at the correct times.

Very excited to watch this team develop into a powerhouse over the next few years. If you are not already a Claybreakers now is the time to considering being so in Spring 2027.

Division leading scores from the day :

Varsity
• Team High Gun Male: Cooper Moldenhauer - 93 (78th of 490)
• Team High Gun Female: Katen Achenbach -90 (16th of 76)

Junior Varsity
• Team High Gun Male: Merrick Mason – 87 (13th of 200)
• Team High Gun Female: MadyKay Meier (16th of 56)

Novice
• Team High Gun Male: Ezra Borner – 80 (5th of 103)
• Team High Gun Female: N/A

08/06/2026

The final placings for the State Tournament !

Congratulations to today's winners, and to everyone that attended today's State Tournament! Make sure to tag and share with your teams and parent groups!

04/06/2026

Reminder no stakes for tents between two sidewalks.

‼️REMINDER ‼️ With our recent improvements to the home grounds we have increased the number of underground utilities, mainly located between our UTV pavers path and the concrete sidewalk. Because of this we are BANNING any tent stakes or any other ground protrusions in this area. If you are planning to use a tent in that area please use sand bags or other means to hold your tents down. Thank you for your cooperation in this and helping maintain our grounds! We look forward to having a great year!

03/06/2026

Shout out to Senior Chace Kressin who built and donated a set of co****le boards to the Ellsworth Claybreakers team. Chace is part of our first group of kids that were allowed to join the team as 7th graders and been a member for all six years. Chace decided after attending numerous state, regional and national competitions that waiting around to shoot with nothing to do was just no longer acceptable. This is a gift that future team members will truly enjoy. Coach Jesse Thurmes is also looking forward to showing the kids how to throw some bags. My only questions is can he do so without a beer in his left hand and if so is that still considered bags ??

03/06/2026

The last two weeks we have been practicing for state and enjoying what we call fun nights! Parents join in to show the kids "how it is done" and we also play some Annie Oakley!

Fun NIght 1 Winners of Annie Oakley
Game 1 Carter Moldenhauer, 2nd - Otto Jakes
Game 2 Carter Moldenhauer, 2nd - DAD Mike Wilson

Fun NIght 2 Winners of Annie Oakley
Game 1 Trevor Doherty, 2nd - Ethan Ladwig
Game 2 Carter Moldenhauer, 2nd Cameron Sears & Cooper Moldenhauer