ALFRED — Alfred State won the team title at the 2026 USA College Clay Target League National Championships in Bunker Hill, Illinois, scoring 962 points to claim the overall and gold titles.

The Pioneers tied Lake Land College of Illinois with 962 points and won the championship on a tiebreaker. Valley City State University of North Dakota finished third with 955 points, followed by Concordia College of Moorhead, Minnesota, with 947 and Bismarck State College of North Dakota with 946.

Justin Jerome of Boston, N.Y., led Alfred State with a score of 199, finishing second overall. Carter Hallett of Caledonia placed 11th with 193, Teresa Cicora of Springwater was 20th with 191, John Button of Shortsville was 27th with 190 and Ashley Burrows of Belmont was 37th with 189.

Daniel Clark of Arkport finished 46th with 187, David Malone of Kennedy was 56th with 186, Daniel Cook of Fredonia was 78th with 183, Daniel Tancredi of Cleveland was 85th with 182 and Ian Bolton of Naples was 103rd with 179.

“Winning a National Championship is an incredible accomplishment, and I am extremely proud of our team,” Alfred State coach Brad Smith said. “Over the past four years, our program has grown tremendously, and this achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of every student who traveled to Nationals. Their performance, commitment, and teamwork made this championship possible. I look forward to continuing to support their growth and success both on and off the range.”

The competition featured 185 shooters representing more than 25 colleges. Seventeen colleges fielded the minimum five shooters required to record a team score.

Alfred State won the championship in its fourth year of competition. The Pioneers finished fifth in 2023, 10th in 2024 and sixth in 2025.