When Hunter Ahrendt picks up his Remington shotgun Friday, June 24, he’ll become the first Luverne High School athlete to compete in the Minnesota State High School League Clay Target Tournament.
“I’m excited,” the recent LHS graduate said. “I am just praying for good weather — I am tired of the wind.”
Ahrendt, the oldest child of Jeff and Johnna Ahrendt of rural Luverne, earned an invitation to the elite tournament as an individual by posting a season average of hitting 23.6 clay targets out of the round of 25.
He ended the spring 2022 season listed in the top 100 shooters in the state, finishing tied for 74th.
Ahrendt was presented with an All-State patch June 14, when Luverne participated in the Minnesota Trap Shooting Championship in Alexandria.
Being able to move on to this week’s state tournament is a crowning achievement for Ahrendt, whose love of hunting began at a very young age when he would accompany his dad and grandpa, Lowell Ahrendt.
“I remember sitting in a blind at 5 years old, just watching,” he said.
Through the years, Ahrendt became a hunter and enjoys hunting white-tail deer and pheasant hunting with a dog.
He's played organized sports (his name, Hunter, comes from a movie baseball player), but he dropped playing football and basketball and now focuses on his love of trap shooting.
He’s been a member of the high school program since it started in 2017. He was a sixth-grader at the time.
“Trap is the closest thing (sport) to hunting I can do with my buddies,” Ahrendt said.
Two years after joining the high school team, he shot a perfect 25 out of 25. Last year he shot a perfect 50 out of 50.
This year Ahrendt achieved one 50-straight and four 25-straights.
He said he would have achieved a higher season average if not for one round where he mistakenly used a fellow shooter’s Remington over-under gun instead of his own. The shotguns looked identical except for one critical factor.
“I shot terribly,” he said. “If you’ve shot with a gun for a long time, don’t go changing it up.”
He views the 55 athletes out for this year’s school team as allies and not as competitors, as head coach Scott Loosbrock and the other assistant coaches stress to the team.
“The biggest thing is not to compete with your friends because it sets a standard of pressure … instead cheer them on,” Ahrendt said.
Routine is another competitive strategy for Ahrendt.
He’s developed two must-do routines before each shoot: Move the microphone that activates the clay target launcher a couple of inches at each launch site, and reset the gun on his shoulder before each shot.
“My best shooting has been 99-straight,” he said. “If I don’t do it (the two must-dos), I miss.”
At the state tournament, Ahrendt is aiming for a possible score of 100.
“My strategy — I’ve been so busy this year — is to try to keep myself relaxed and put the stress of the day behind me,” he said. “I’ve been teaching myself to struggle off a miss — you can’t try to take it back because then you’ll miss the next one.”