Clay Blackketter Claims Open Division Title at 2026 Southern Iowa Showdown

DIAGONAL, Iowa — In the windswept farmland of southwest Iowa, where the terrain rolls gently and the conditions do not, Team Hornady’s Clay Blackketter reminded a field of precision rifle competitors why he remains one of the shooters to beat on the PRS circuit.

Clay Blackketter and Hornady Assistant Director of Engineering Joe Thielen finished first and third, respectively at the 2026 Southern Iowa Showdown.

Blackketter won the Open division title at the 2026 Southern Iowa Showdown, a Precision Rifle Series competition held March 14-15 in Diagonal, Iowa. The two-day match featured 20 stages and approximately 200 rounds, testing positional stability, wind reading and the kind of patient fundamentals that separate the top of a leaderboard from the middle of one.

Josh Ulickey finished second, with Hornady Assistant Director of Engineering Joe Thielen claiming third—giving the Grand Island, Nebraska-based ammunition maker two shooters in the top three.

Both Blackketter and Thielen were shooting Hornady’s .25-cal. 138-grain A-Tip Match bullets, which feature a precision-machined aluminum tip designed to enhance in-flight stability and reduce drag variability.

“The Hornady A-Tip Match bullets are the most accurate bullets a shooter can use,” Blackketter said. “Combine the Hornady Ballistics app with 4DOF and these bullets and you have one heck of a winning combination.”

The 2026 PRS Southern Iowa Showdown, presented by Zeiss, delivered a balanced mix of positional and prone stages with standard target sizes—the kind of match format that rewards consistency over flash. Competitors had to manage time, control recoil and stay disciplined behind the rifle across every stage, from start to finish.

Garrett Stephens finished fourth and Chris Opfer rounded out the top five. Among the division winners, Dale Rhoads earned the Top Senior honor, Michelle Kutcher was Top Lady and Travis Cohan took Top Junior. Dawson Keen was recognized as the Top Military/Law Enforcement competitor, while Fraser MacKenzie claimed both the Top International and Top Production titles.

For more from the 2026 Southern Iowa Showdown, go to the PRS website.

Learn more about Hornady at hornady.com.