HobbsDailyReport.com
Wyatt Malphrus, a freshman at Bandys High, displays awards he won at skeet shooting in world competition./SUBMITTED PHOTO
CATAWBA – Bandys High has a state champion skeet shooter competing at a high level as a ninth-grader.
Wyatt Malphrus, now 14, shoots competitively in the 8-stand skeet, and he recently won the Sub Junior State title in Raleigh for the second year in a row while competing in his age group (13 at the time). That event was July 22.
He’s also competed in the Junior World Skeet competition, held July 27-30 in St. Joe, Ind.
He competed against 148 shooters in divisions – Sub Junior, Junior, Ladies and Collegiate – based on age groups, with shooters entered from as far away as South Africa and Australia.
Malphrus won a gold medal as the Sub Junior World Champion in doubles with a 97 of 100 score. He also took a title in 12-gauge competition with a 100-of-100 to win another gold medal.
Additionally, he was 96 of 100 in the Sub Junior First Class 20-gauge competition — finishing in third place – and, at 99 of 100, won a shoot off and was the Sub Junior 28-gauge runner-up and won a silver medal.
He also took third place in Sub Junior 410 First Class with a 93.
The four gauge scores are added for a high overall point total, where Malphrus was the Sub Junior runner-up, receiving a silver medal, with a score of 388 (off 400 targets). Overall, including in doubles, he missed only 15 of 500 targets at the competition.