Penn Cambria freshman places first in state shooting competition
Kendall McConnell was one of two Panthers to place in their respective divisions, with sophomore Isabella Weisinger placing fourth overall in the varsity category. Penn Cambria finished 11th in the total team standings.
For McConnell, she grew up around trap shooting from a young age. She drew that inspiration from her father.
'My dad was a coach, and I would always come down here, and I just started shooting,' McConnell said.
Kendall and her dad, Tom McConnell, spend most of their time either at the Cresson Sportsmans Club shooting at the range or in the woods of Central Pennsylvania hunting for deer and pheasants. The company came as a surprise to Tom.
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'I was excited,' Tom said. 'It's not very often you get a daughter that will partake in the outdoor sports as deeply as she has.'
The Penn Cambria Clay Trap Shooting team started up in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by McConnell and Vickie Wirfel, the team started with rough ground due to social distancing and the construction of a new shooting range field.
Regardless of the changes, Kendall was always found at the range with her father, joining the rest of the team in target practice.
'She wasn't eligible yet to shoot for the team, but she helped us build it and shot alongside our kids just for sport,' Wirfel said. 'And that was a beautiful thing.'
Kendall soon got her shot as a member of the team during her freshman campaign in the Spring of 2025. Her season had a rough start due to her gun's calibration and choke being off.
'I experienced a lot of roller coasters because my gun,' Kendall said. 'We kind of figured out how to adjust it correctly. So I wasn't shooting the best scores.'
'She had a very big struggle with trying to break 16,' Tom said. 'There were weeks that she shot below 16, and it was very disheartening to her.'
They got her gun fixed by the time the state competition rolled around. Once she got to the tournament, she felt determined to up her game.
'My thought was just to not give up because you never know,' Kendall said. 'It's a hard game, and I just tell myself to shoot for fun.'
She took her shot, managing to shoot 24 out of 25 clay targets in her first outing, en route to an 86 out of 100 in the competition, which was good enough to place first in the female JV division.
'I was very proud of myself for getting that far and shooting well and like, being above everybody,' Kendall said.
'It's crazy to see how hard she worked the last couple of weeks going into states, get back up on top of things and be able to pull it off,' Tom added.
She now has a medal to remind her of her accomplishment, which comes at a price heading into her sophomore year. With a big target on her back, she plans to keep her eyes down her sight to stay at the top of her game.
'I always tell them to shoot this bird that they're going to shoot like it's the only bird they have to shoot all day,' Tom said.
'When you get in your head, it really brings your scores down,' Kendall added.
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