The Ward County team consisted of two pairs of siblings, Landen and Olivia Jansen, and Alyssa and Zachery Korgel, with Nathan Sutton as their coach.

These Minot natives spent three days shooting their rifles; each day focused on a different stance or type of target. The team competed against 89 individuals from 26 other states throughout the competition.

The first day of competition, Ward County Air Rifle Team shot 3P, which is the three stances of standing, kneeling and prone. Placing in the top 20 with a score of 525, O. Jansen tied 14th place with Brendon Dunn from Georgia and Joseph Kor from Minnesota. North Dakota placed 11th as a team in 3P.

On the second day, the team shot standing round and placed 13th. On the third and final day, the team shot silhouettes and placed 16th.

Overall, the Ward County team representing North Dakota in the competition placed 15th in the nation.

The shooting sports contests at the event were Air Pistol, Air Rifle, Compound Archery, Hunting Skills, Muzzle Loading, Recurve Archery, Smallbore Pistol, Smallbore Rifle and Shotgun. Twelve youth from North Dakota competed in Air Rifle, Compound Archery and Shotgun.

The strength of the Ward County team lies in its youth and perseverance. The lessons learned ignited a fire for next year. They are eligible to compete at nationals in a sport other than Air Rifle. They are talking about trying Air Pistol or Smallbore Rifle, a testament to their resilience and determination.

These youth started when they were very young and were part of the first air rifle practices offered by Ward County 4-H, founded by Jim Potts. They endured the growing pains of the new program and are now passing on their knowledge and skills to the next generation of air rifle enthusiasts. Last fall during the Ward County 4-H Shooting Sports Day event, they assisted Sutton in teaching beginners and newcomers the line commands and how to aim.