Not bad for a first-year program.
Hancock Day School's middle school clay targets team won the Georgia Independent Athletic Association state championship on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Forest City Gun Club in Savannah, beating runner-up Savannah Country Day by 23 targets.
The championship brought together 190 shooters from 26 schools across Georgia. Hancock's nine-member team, coached by Josh Klein, also brought home several individual state titles.
Mac Reardon led the way, winning the boys' High Overall championship. Reardon finished first in skeet and sporting clays and second in trap after a shoot-off.
Wynn Palmer added a third-place finish in boys trap, while Lucas Lockwood helped Hancock secure the team championship.
On the girls' side, seventh-grader Ellie Jones won individual state titles in skeet and sporting clays. Camille Seibert finished third in sporting clays.
It took two years to start the program. It took just one season to win a state championship.
"Walter Reardon and I have been trying to get this team going for 2 years with the school," Klein said.
Klein credited Hancock athletic director Andy Hare and members of the school's board with helping start the program.
Hancock Day School’s middle school clay targets team celebrates winning the GIAA state championship in its first season, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Forest City Gun Club in Savannah. (Photo courtesy of Hancock Day School Athletics)
The school already had experienced shooters. What it needed was the opportunity to compete as a school team.
"We had a good feeling about making a name for ourselves at state," Klein said. "We didn't know or dream that we were going to win state because there's a lot of tight competition out there."
In clay target shooting, one good shooter isn't enough to win a team championship.
Team scoring was based on the combined scores of each school's top three shooters, with each competitor shooting 200 targets.
That's why every target counted.
Klein pointed to Lockwood as an example of how important each shooter's contribution was.
"Lucas, fantastic shooter, had a little bit of an off day, but his scores helped us tremendously to win the state," Klein said.
But ask Klein what impressed him most about this group, and he doesn't start with the scores.
He talks about preparation.
Many of his shooters played other fall sports and couldn't always make the team's twice-weekly practices. When that happened, they found time to practice with their parents, sometimes on weekends.
"Honestly, it was their drive and their motivation," Klein said. "A lot of these kids play other fall sports. And if they couldn't make practice, they would go out and practice with their parents."
Klein also made sure his shooters understood what it meant to compete. Winning was the goal, but he didn't want them putting extra pressure on themselves.
"My biggest thing was don't put pressure on yourself. Don't put pressure on yourself. Have fun with this sport," Klein said.
"If we come out on top, great. If we don't, great. It's not a problem. We're a 1st year team."
Hancock came out on top.
Now, with a state championship in its first season and nine shooters in the program, Klein hopes more students will try the sport next year.
Photo courtesy of Hancock Day School Athletics
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