Article Info
Iowa Youth Compete at 4-H Nationals
| Scope | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | null |
| Impact | national |
| Key Entities | |
| Iowa state delegation — 20 youth competitors | Iowa 4-H Shooting Sports |
| 4-H Shooting Sports national coordinator | Scott Stuhr |
| Iowa 4-H state shooting sports coordinator, ISU Extension | Graci Bedwell |
| Program administrator for Iowa delegation | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
| What It Means | |
| |
| Timeline | |
| June 21, 2026 | 2026 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships begin, Grand Island, Nebraska |
| June 26, 2026 | Championships conclude |
| July 7, 2026 | Iowa State University Extension publishes delegation recap |
Iowa Youth Compete at 4-H Nationals
Twenty Iowa delegates took on nearly 700 competitors across nine shooting disciplines in Grand Island, Nebraska
From The Boise Gun Club Handbook
Twenty Iowa 4-H delegates competed at the 2026 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships in Grand Island, Nebraska, June 21–26.
The event drew 700 competitors from 42 states across nine disciplines — compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading and hunting skills. That's a serious footprint for a youth program most people outside the shooting sports community don't know exists.
State of play: Iowa fielded competitors across six disciplines, with full team entries in air rifle, compound archery, muzzleloader, smallbore rifle and shotgun, plus individual recurve archery and hunting skills participants.
The Iowa delegation:
- Air rifle — Hudson Kirby (Polk/Davis County), Meg Haines (East Pottawattamie County)
- Compound archery — Carter Henderson, Evan Moetsch (Madison County), Jayden Haffner (Page County)
- Muzzleloader — Zane Hackett, Nolan Becker, Oliver Becker (East Pottawattamie County)
- Smallbore rifle — Mattie Haines (East Pottawattamie County), Kort Akers (Madison County), Brenna Vik (Humboldt County)
- Shotgun — Makayla Staples, Dylan Staples, Weston Vik (Humboldt County), Joe Kauffman (Webster County)
- Recurve archery — Temperance Nguyen, Avah Licht (Polk County), Kiera Ernst (Humboldt County), Grant Bane (East Pottawattamie County)
- Hunting skills — Cole Swartzendruber (Johnson County)
The big picture: Programs like this are how the next generation of safe, skilled shooters gets built — not through YouTube, not through osmosis, but through structured coaching, repetition and competition pressure. The 4-H Shooting Sports model has been running this playbook for decades, and events like Nationals are the proof of concept.
"Youth learn responsibility, sportsmanship and perseverance, and those lessons stay with them long after the event is over." — Scott Stuhr, 4-H Shooting Sports national coordinator
The bottom line: Seven hundred young competitors, nine disciplines, 42 states — this is one of the largest organized youth shooting competitions in the country, and it doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves.
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