Oct 17
Local Shooters Compete in RichmondCC Scholarship Fundraiser
Oct. 17, 2017 – Some of the best target shooters in Richmond and Scotland County returned to DeWitt’s Outdoors Sports in Ellerbe on Oct. 10 to compete once again in the Richmond Community College Foundation Clay Shooting Classic. However, a new team rose to the top to capture first place.
Taking first place was the team for Sport Cycles, which included sharp shooters Jerry Covington, Bryan Willis, Toby Mabe and Derek Shelton. The Sports Cycle Team came in second at the clay shoot held in April.
Rising to second place after a third-place finish at the spring shoot was the team for RichmondCC, RCC Blasters Gary Aycock, Dalton Bowman, Jay Wagers and Jacob DeWitt.
Finishing not far behind in third-place was the team for McRae's Electric, which included Jay Denham, Will Spears, Brian Greene and Andrew Spears.
Several items were raffled off after the shoot, including a shotgun and some hunting paraphernalia.
Keith Mabe shooting for the Tri-City team won the grand prize, a Beretta A-300 Outlander 12-gauge shotgun. Also, participants had a chance to bid on silent auction items including a kingfisher trip, a duck hunt and a catfishing excursion.
The clay shoot netted more than $8,000 for one of RichmondCC’s largest and fastest growing scholarships, the Working Scholarship program. In the three years since its inception, the Working Scholarship has helped offset the cost of tuition and books for more than 300 RichmondCC working students whose income made them ineligible for federal and state financial aid.
“The staff at DeWitt’s Outdoor Sports do a super job in making this a great experience for all who participate, and we thank the many sponsors who helped support this fundraiser for student scholarships, including our corporate sponsors Big Rock Sports and Perdue, in addition to DeWitt’s,” said Dr. Hal Shuler, Associate Vice President of Development. "The clay sporting course is both challenging and fun, and we had some real good shooters show up and participate. We look forward to next year’s event and hope more people will sign up to compete and enjoy the great food we provide before and after the shoot.”
Fourteen teams competed on the 14-station course. Each team was comprised of four team members who each got a turn firing at the targets. Each team member also had the opportunity to buy mulligans before the shooting began.
One of the highlights of this year’s shoot was what is called a “flurry.” Four shooters take a station in front of six skeet throwers that send up 50 skeets in two and a half minutes. The goal is to work together to hit all 50 skeets in the “flurry” of skeets flying, guns blazing and shooters reloading.
The clay shoot for next year has been scheduled for Oct. 9, 2018.
“These fundraisers will put more money into the Working Scholarship program, which means we can help more students afford college and achieve their career goals,” Shuler said.