Shockers shooting for success, funding

Unlike Gregg Marshall, Wichita State shooting sports coach Tom Binyon can get Kansas State to compete against his Shockers. In fact, he expects the Wildcats to be in Wichita next weekend to show their stuff. Many other collegiate shotgun shooting teams will be here, as well.

The Shocker Fall Classic, next Saturday and Sunday, is sponsored by WSU’s shooting sports team. Binyon said it’s a chance for his shooters to compete against some quality competition and, hopefully, raise some much-needed funds to support the team.

Binyon said the University of Kansas will not be taking on the Shockers at the Fall Classic because, “I don’t think they have a shooting team yet.”

Plenty of other colleges do.

“I’m thinking we’ll have 10 to 15 teams, we’re still getting registrations,” said Binyon. “We know we’re getting Arizona State, and Lindenwood University, they’re Division I national champions 13 times in a row.”

Closer to home, Fort Hays State’s team is also expected. They’ve won the Division II shotgun shooting championships the past two years.

That’s a pretty lofty field of competitors coming to the first tournament held by a program that’s barely a year old.

Binyon, an avid clay target shooter, said he got the idea to get a WSU shooting team started when he began hearing about collegiate teams, including Fort Hays State, last year. He approached the university in June 2013. The team was chartered as a student organization last August and isn’t affiliated with the athletic department.

“That’s pretty fast, considering they were a little reluctant at first. You know, guns and college campuses,” he said. “But they came around nicely.”

He credited Duane Shepherd, the founder and coach of Fort Hays State’s team, for helping get the WSU program going. Shepherd, a FHSU professor, said the Shockers aren’t the only newcomers to college shooting.

“When we first started (in 2005), there were about 32 or 33 teams,” said Shepherd. “I know there were 75 teams at nationals this year. I’ve heard there are now 115 schools that have shooting teams. It’s growing exponentially.”

Binyon is pleased at the growth in the WSU program. There are 16 members on the team. They are required to be enrolled in at least six credit hours and have at least a 2.0 grade-point average.

Some come with shotgunning experience. Some come seeking it.

“I’d done some shooting with rifle, pistol and bow, so I thought I’d check it all out,” said Michael Nguyen, a 23-year-old electrical engineering senior. “This gives me a chance to round out my shooting disciplines and work on my skills.”

He’s had a lot to learn in practices, which number three a week.

Shooters can encounter a variety of trap, skeet and sporting clays at competitions. Learning each, and figuring out how to improve on them, can be a challenge. Binyon said Shocker shooters are fortunate to have good shotgun shooting facilities close to Wichita.

Much of their practice for trap and skeet is at the Ark Valley Gun Club, about 10 miles north of Wichita. A private trap range nearby is open to the team, too. Shady Creek Sporting Clays, near Belle Plaine, is their home sporting clays and five-stand course.

Binyon said having such quality shotgun courses so close to home, that the team knows so well, is a huge advantage for a young team when hosting such a major shooting event..

“Most teams have to really travel to host a tournament, to find the kind of facilities we have so close to Wichita,” he said. “K-State has to go to Lenexa for their shoot. Fort Hays has to go to Nebraska.”

That the competition is on home shooting courses certainly gives the WSU team a bit of a home-field advantage when it comes to scores. Having the shoot so well attended, with so many teams paying registration fees, will hopefully make it easier for the Shocker shooting team to grow.

Binyon said they get no financial sponsorship from the university. Students furnish their own shotgun and some accessories. The team, he said, does pay for all ammunition, targets and entry fees to tournaments. That can cost thousands of dollars, per shooter, per year.

So far the team has been relying on donations from local and national sponsors. Binyon is hoping next weekend’s event will bring more attention to the team, and give them the extra funding that’s needed for the team members.

“It’s a good thing the team pays for all of the targets and shells,” said Nguyen, who is borrowing a shotgun while making payments on another. “Without that kind of help, I’m pretty sure most of the team couldn’t afford to practice.”

For more information, go to www.shockerclassic.com.

This story was originally published August 30, 2014 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Shockers shooting for success, funding."