The moment has been etched into Madison Moorhead’s mind forever.
“It was nothing like I had imagined it would be,” she said of the National Championship. “The most amazing moment was coming off the line after I had just ran a 99 and seeing my dad and the huge crowd around watching. That is a moment I will never forget.”
The graduate of Colville High School in Washington state and member of the Selkirk High School team was the top-scoring female in the nation at the League’s inaugural National Championship in Mason, Michigan this past July. She hit 198 out of 200 clay targets.
PullUSA: How did you get involved in shooting sports?
Madison Moorhead: My dad and grandpa encouraged me to look into it. They used to shoot together and now it’s something that I share with my father.
PullUSA: Why did you join the Washington State High School Clay Target League?
Moorhead: To branch out and meet new people. I had a feeling that if I tried hard enough and put in the work and the mental concentration, I could take my whole shooting career to a new level. And after I shot a 198 out of 200 at the National Championship competition, my goal was met, and it exceeded anything I had ever thought possible.
PullUSA: What did you like most about the League?
Moorhead: I think it really made me realize that sportsmanship goes beyond a field or a court. We all want what is best for ourselves, but at the end of the day, I want to beat the person next to me when they are at their best, not when they are having a rough day. And believe me there are rough days.
PullUSA: Do you know your major?
Moorhead: Yes, I have chosen to go into the medical field and get my echocardiogram tech license as well as my ultrasound tech license. Eventually I want to obtain my radiology technician license as well.
PullUSA: What was it like competing with the best of the best at Nationals?
Moorhead: It was absolutely amazing. I have a tendency to root for the underdog. When you go to a huge event like this, everyone has amazing guns and patches plastered all over their vests and shell pouches. But I’m shooting a BT 99 with an old vest my grandpa got me that had no patches on it, and I outshot the kid next to me that was wearing a vest that I didn’t even know the color of because it had so many 100 patches on it. One of the best feelings in my life.
PullUSA: What would you say to kids who are thinking about joining the League?
Moorhead: Don’t hesitate. This League has opened so many doors for me and taken me places I had never thought possible.
Each issue of PullUSA features a different high school clay target athlete exhibiting exceptional character and passion for the sport and their communities.
