Park Rapids Clay Dusters Return to State for 3rd Straight Year, 8th Time Overall

If it’s been raining down orange dust and debris lately instead of the usual afternoon showers, don’t worry—the sky’s not falling. It’s probably just your local high school trap team at practice, and one of those teams, the Park Rapids Clay Dusters, will keep practicing a little while longer.

Last week, the squad competed in the Minnesota State Trap Shooting Championship in Alexandria and was one of 40 teams that qualified for the MSHSL State Clay Target Tournament this Friday. The Clay Dusters finished 16th at the state tournament in 2024 and have continued to build off that success into this season, winning the Class AAAA Conference 5 Title this spring. It’s something their senior class of shooters is proud of.

“It’s great. We have a great team,” said senior Avery Kapaun. “It’s cool to see a lot of guys, younger guys come up and shoot really well. I know it’s a lot smaller when I first joined, so it’s cool to see it really grow.

When asked about how he is getting ready for the state tournament this time around, he said, “Just do it. Don’t overthink it and have fun with it.”

Senior Zachery Paurus also shared his thoughts on where the team is at heading to Prior Lake.

“For me, anyway, it’s been decent and I think everyone’s getting a lot better,” he said. “The more they shoot, they get better, you know? Practice makes perfect.”

He added, “I don’t really remember what we got last year, but this year I think we [will improve]. ‘Just focus,’ like [Head Coach Robin Walsh] says, and ‘have fun.’ That’s all you got to do.”

This will be Park Rapids’ eighth state appearance and their third in a row. The State Clay Target Tournament is this Friday, June 20th at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake. Team competition begins at 9 a.m. followed by individual shooters at 1 p.m.