OHIO – Eleven-year-old Fairfield County resident TJ Knight was just two targets short of topping his field of 51 shooters at the 2021 Scholastic Clay Target (SCTP) National Team Championships last week.
According to its website, the Scholastic Clay Target Program provides kids from elementary through college with the opportunity to participate in the fun and challenging sports of Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays, as well as the Olympic disciplines of Bunker Trap, Trap Doubles and International Skeet.
SCTP is the official feeder program to USA Shooting and a path to the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team.
Knight, who began shooting SCTP/4-H with the Fairfield Gun Club in the 2020/2021 season under head coach John Tate, hit 159 targets in the national 200-target competition. Grant Glossner of Boiling Springs, PA took the top spot in the Championships with 161 hit clays.
Taking second in the national competition is only the most recent accomplishment from Knight. Earlier this year he claimed the 2021 SCTP State Championship in the Rookie Division.
At eight-years-old, Knight started shooting sporting clays with a private club, but moved to the 4-H SCTP team for an introduction to skeet, trap and super sporting clays. Knight is in fifth grade.