ElizabethBuescher

In the midst of a trap meet on the outskirts of Omaha, a squad of four boys and one girl, all from different schools, shoot their handicaps event at a far-back yardage against a bitter wind. One boy shoots at a clay and knocks a chip off it, but the scorekeeper calls, “loss!” The squad’s singular girl, wearing a blue vest with the words “MARIAN TRAP” sewn on the back, raises her hand and defends the shot to the scorer, despite the boy being on an opposing team. The scorer corrects the call, and the next shooter calls for a clay. It’s a small moment, but that singular clay could mean the difference between shooting off for the title of High Overall or automatically winning. The Marian shooter could have helped the boy score better than her by defending his shot, but she defended it anyway. 

The Marian and Duchesne trapshooting team stands out as an all-girls team in a male-dominated sport. What surprises—and annoys—many teams is that these girls can win; they’ve taken home at least one placement at state every year since the team was founded in 2004. 

Girls on the Marian-Duchesne team are easily recognizable because of their blue shooting vests, which are earned in each girl’s second year of participation. The vests have been around since the team’s early years. In 2004, head coach and founder Bruce Esser’s wife, Dr. Deb Esser sewed vests for the girls. In 2005, a company offered to give the girls custom vests. Ever since, the team has used club funds to buy vests for second-year shooters. 

“They’re such nice vests, they’re incredibly expensive, so they needed to be something the team could do to continue the tradition of the blue vests,” Esser, still the team coach, said. Not all new shooters return for a second year, so the team gives second-year shooters vests as a reward for their commitment to the team. 

When the first Duchesne girls joined the team, they opted to shoot with the blue vests instead of getting red vests, and that tradition has continued until today. The only indicator of whether a girl attends Marian or Duchesne on the vests is the color of the girl’s name embroidered on the front: white for Marian girls and red for Duchesne girls. 

Over time, the Marian-Duchesne team has built a reputation of being a ‘class act.’ “We’ve always focused on two things: conducting yourself with class, and improving. You can’t play defense in this sport, so staying calm and collected is the best way
to behave,” Esser said. 

The girls have a high degree of self-discipline. Some shooters make it clear when they miss a target by slamming their gun down and throwing their shell into their bag, but not Marian girls. “Nobody really knows if they do good or bad. They don’t show off when they do really well, and they don’t get upset when they do bad,” David Voth, current head coach of the Marian-Duchesne team, said. 

The girls also value fairness; they’re the ones calling out when the scorekeeper calls a chipped clay a loss, even if it costs them a medal. “Trapshooting is all about you, your character. It builds character. We’re still competitive, but we’re not a team that’s going to be upset when we don’t win,” Voth said. During the first meet of the season, on March 23, the Marian Blue squad, made up of the best shooters on the team, took all of the top team awards. Grace Nigro, a senior from Duchesne, had to shoot off against four boys for first place at the 16-yard line, and she beat all of them. Afterwards, Esser heard a conversation between several boys, where one said, “You just got beat by a girl!” The other said, “We ALL just got beat by a girl.”  

The phrase “you just got beat by a girl!” is common in such a male-dominated sport. There’s a lady’s category of awards because of the vast proportion of male versus female shooters. Despite this, it’s not uncommon for Marian to take home all of the ‘champion’ awards, shattering more targets than both the high scoring male and female. 

Freshman Jane Rohling shot a 47 out of 50 at the first meet, taking first place out of the ladies. That awarded her with a blue vest as a freshman, which is pretty rare. “Wearing the blue vest is an honor for me, because many people at meets know that anyone wearing the Marian Blue vest is going to be courteous and respectful,” Rohling said. “It means that I am part of the team, part of the close family that is Marian Trap.” 

Safety is a top priority for Marian trapshooting. In order to compete at trap meets, the Eastern Cornhusker Trapshooting Conference requires all shooters to be certified with hunter safety through both an online and in-person course. The rules of shooting are strict; they even specify which direction shooters can walk when leaving their last post. Demonstrating firearm safety includes how shooters act with their gun, and Marian girls set the standard of responsibility with their class act. 

Marian and Duchesne trapshooters represent safe, responsible and disciplined shooters. Their schools’ values are clearly showcased in their actions. They’ve been acting this way since the founding of the team 20 years ago. 

“After about three years, one of the guys running the meets told all the teams at one meet, ‘We want you all this week to behave just like Marian girls,’” Esser said. The girls continue to shatter clays with sportsmanship, making their coaches and their schools proud.