SAINT CLAIR - At first glance, North Schuylkill graduate Brady Simms and Nativity graduate Joe Recla have the appearance of typical college students enjoying lunch in the early days of their first summer break after completing their freshman years.
It is only when sitting back and listening to them compare their experiences that one quickly grasps the fact there is nothing typical - and certainly not average - about the former high school All-American trap shooters. This past year Simms and Recla never missed a beat - and very few shots - in taking the next step up the ladder to what could lead to both competing internationally.
In March, Simms and Recla found themselves where every collegiate shooter hopes to be when they were among the more than 500 shooters on the 63 teams competing for the ACUI Clay Target Championships at the NSSA-NSCA National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas. When the smoke cleared and dust of clay birds settled, both had come away with individual honors, while Simms was part of an all-time collegiate record-tying championship.
For the 10th consecutive year, Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Mo., won the national title in shotgun sports by breaking 2,249 of 2,350 targets, with Simms tying for the high overall individual score of 314 with teammate Zach Bryant. That performance gave the Lions a 60-target victory over runner-up Texas A&M.
Lindenwood is just the sixth college team to win 10 consecutive national championships at any level. Others in the 10-in-a-row club are Kenyon College in both men's and women's swimming, LSU in women's outdoor track, Arkansas in men's indoor track and Hobart College in lacrosse.
During the competition, Recla, who is the 2013 Pennsylvania Trap Shooter of the Year, shot a perfect 100 in American Trap, taking the silver medal in the shoot off, for Bethel University of McKenzie, Tenn. His performance helped the Wildcats finish in third place, 61 targets behind the Aggies with a 2,128 score.
"Getting to know people was the biggest thing," Recla said of his first year as a collegiate shooter. "Around here you pretty much know everyone."
Of course "around here" in the world traveled by Recla and Simms is a pretty big place. Throughout their high school years they competed on a regular basis throughout the United States. Simms balanced that by being a two-way football lineman who was recruited by Bloomsburg University. He was also a standout as a thrower for the Spartans' track and field team, winning Schuylkill League and District 11 Class AA titles in the shot put in 2011, qualifying for the PIAA Championships in the process.
"I really didn't feel any extra pressure because I had confidence in myself and my teammates," Simms said. "You're part of a team, but you're also shooting for yourself, which is pretty much what you have been doing."
Simms also came away with an individual title at nationals, winning the Flurry Shoot-Outs and gave the Lions a sweep after teammate Sarah Hughes won the women's title. In winning the national title, this was the second year in a row that Lindenwood came within one target of sweeping all six major team events.
Lindenwood won the International Skeet, International Trap, 5-Stand, Sporting Clays and American Skeet competitions. Bethel prevented a sweep by defeating the Lions in American Trap.
"My goals are to keep building on what I was able to do this year," Recla said. "I'm not sure where I'll be because I've been contacted by some other schools about transferring."
Simms said he has no specific goals other than to keep improving through more consistent performances. That says a lot about the level of proficiency these two shooters have reached.
"I guess the thing I want most is more consistency in sporting clays," Simms said. "Being able to do that and winning another national title would pretty much be my goals."
With so many youth shooting programs, what Simms and Recla have accomplished should inspire young competitors to be anything other than average.