Nicholas Coppage Tops Field At 2025 USA High School Clay Target Nationals

No one saw it coming—not even Nicholas Coppage. But by Sunday evening, the Queen Anne’s County (Maryland) high schooler was wearing the crown at the 2025 USA High School Clay Target League National Championship. And he earned it the hard way.

In a field of more than 1,800 athletes from across the country, Coppage’s run was one for the history books.

On the left, Nicholas Coppage of Queen Anne's County H.S. (Md.) celebrates his dramatic rise from 395th place to national champion. On the right, Brianna Helsene of South Prairie H.S. (N.D.) smiles after climbing from 29th to the top of the women’s division with a perfect score and shoot-off victory. Both athletes earned their titles at the 2025 USAHSCTL National Championship in Mason, Mich., in July. (Photo courtesy USAHSCTL)

After a modest Saturday performance that placed him 395th out of the 400 athletes advancing to the final round, Coppage flipped the script with a perfect 100-straight on Sunday, then went a staggering 45-for-45 in a pressure-packed shoot-off against 20 other flawless shooters to capture the individual national title.

In the women’s division, South Prairie H.S. (North Dakota)’s Brianna Helsene mirrored that perfect final-day score, besting Aubree Antrim of Stewardson-Strasburg High School (Illinois) in a head-to-head shoot-off to claim the top women’s title in the country.

Beaver River Central H.S. (N.Y.) competitors celebrate after capturing the team title at the 2025 USAHSCTL National Championship in Mason, Mich. The squad posted a score of 494 out of 500—edging out more than 260 high school teams from across the country in one of the most competitive finishes in event history. (Photo courtesy USAHSCTL)

On the team front, Beaver River Central High School (New York) emerged from a jam-packed leaderboard to take home the national championship with 494/500. The razor-thin margin between first and fifth places was just two clays, highlighting one of the most competitive team finishes in the event’s history.

More than 3,000 athletes representing 460 high schools converged on the Michigan Trapshooting Association grounds in Mason, Michigan, with individual and team honors on the line in one of the largest events of its kind. Only the top-performing student-athletes from a pool of 38,000 spring participants earned the right to compete.

2025 USA High School Clay Target League National Championship Leaderboard

The USA Clay Target League—which now boasts more than 53,000 athletes nationwide—continues to grow thanks to its school-approved, safety-first approach and broad inclusivity. Co-ed and adaptive, the League has not had a single reported injury since its inception in 2001.

Learn more at usaclaytarget.com.