GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Nearly 700 young shooters from 42 states converged on Heartland Public Shooting Park for the 2026 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships, and by the time the smoke cleared two states had separated themselves from the pack.
Kansas and Texas each walked away with two team titles from the June 21-26 event, though they got there by very different routes. Texas won where the targets move, taking the shotgun and muzzleloading team crowns. Kansas built its week on precision and depth, claiming the air pistol and smallbore pistol team titles while reaching the podium in nearly every other discipline it entered.
Consistency was the story of the Kansas squad. Beyond its two gold finishes, the team placed second in air rifle, muzzleloading and hunting skills and third in smallbore rifle and shotgun, a spread few programs could match across nine disciplines that ranged from recurve and compound archery to hunting skills, air gun and the smallbore and shotgun events.
Texas had a signature individual moment to match its team hardware. Sutton Lampier topped the shotgun field with a 281, edging Lone Star teammate Ty Schuenemann by a single target and Garrett Schoonover of Oklahoma by four. The result put an exclamation point on the Texas shotgun team title, which the state claimed ahead of Oklahoma and Kansas.
Nebraska gave the home crowd something to cheer in smallbore rifle. The host state edged Louisiana and Kansas for the team title, and Makenna Quick of Nebraska led the individual field with a 1167 to make it a hometown sweep of the discipline.
New York took the air rifle team title over Kansas and Louisiana, powered by individual champion Zachary Purvis of Georgia, who topped the field with a 926. In air pistol, Callie Yates of North Carolina posted a 720 to win the individual crown while Kansas, South Dakota and Missouri filled out the team podium.
Aaron Migl of Texas paced the muzzleloading field with a 377, finishing ahead of Adrianna Sieberns of Kansas and Maddox Gresham of Louisiana. His performance helped anchor the Texas team title in the discipline, with Kansas and Louisiana rounding out the top three.
Louisiana had the top hunting skills team, posting a 3389 to beat Kansas and South Dakota for that title.
The championships returned to Heartland Public Shooting Park for the 16th year. Managed by Hornady, the facility is among the largest public shooting complexes in the Midwest, with shotgun ranges, an Olympic bunker trap, rifle ranges stretching to 600 yards and archery ranges that gave the 4-H disciplines room to run.
“It was an honor to host the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championship at the Heartland Public Shooting Park for the 16th year,” said Tom Busch, HPSP Manager. “The competitors, their families, and all the staff and sponsors that make this event happen deserve a huge thank you for a fun and safe match.”
Match Director Steve Pritchard pointed to the venue as a reason the event has found a long-term home in central Nebraska.
“The facilities and the space make Heartland Public Shooting Park a great place to hold the 4-H Nationals,” Pritchard said.
A complete list of results is available through the University of Nebraska 4-H program.
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