Jake Vanek of Arlington High School and the Blair Youth Shooting Sports (BYSS) team is headed to Midland University.
The marksman celebrated his Warriors shotgun sports commitment Oct. 23 with a signing in front of his AHS peers. Last spring, he hit 113 of the 150 clay targets he aimed at during the Cornhusker Trap Shoot in Doniphan.
“My grandpa introduced me to the sport,” Vanek said.
Denny Swaney took his grandson out to a shooting range the winter before he started competing as an eighth-grader, showing Vanek the ropes.
“It was very cold,” the newest Warrior recalled. “There was snow on the ground.”
He didn't focus on the low temperatures, though.
“I was more focused on trying to figure out the concept of it,” Vanek said.
The BYSS team member took to the sport of trapshooting and now wants to tackle it at the collegiate level. He said he's inspired by his fellow marksmen, who are also striving forward to be better shots.
Vanek — who plans to study education — is going to Midland, though, off of the recommendation of his older brother, Zach, who attends the Fremont school and is listed on the Warriors' development baseball roster.
Coach Jake McThenia, who attended the Oct. 23 signing, and assistant coach Drew Cooper lead Midland's shotgun sports program, though. Their team has marksman from across the country. California, Oklahoma, New York, Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Texas, Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Nebraska are all represented.
Vanek said he's excited to meet new people, and is looking forward to traveling and shooting at new ranges.
“It'll be kind of interesting to see different places,” he said.
The Warriors recently won the Prairie Circuit Conference Championship during September in North Platte. Last spring, they finished third in their division's high overall standings during the 2024 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships in Texas.
