MARENGO, Ohio — The summertime attractions in the Buckeye State include Cedar Point, the Lake Erie Islands, and Hocking Hills, but thousands come to Ohio each June, July and August for something else.
They come to compete against the best in the nation, and the world. At Camp Perry near Port Clinton and at the Cardinal Center here, about 30 miles northeast of Columbus, you will find the top marksmen and markswomen, assembled from across the map, putting their skill and expertise on display.
The National Matches at Camp Perry involve more than a month of competitive events and draw well over 4,500 participants annually. Considered the “World Series of the Shooting Sports,” the National Matches have been taking place since 1907, with the finest civilian and military marksmen and women taking part in a wide range of formats and events with both handguns and rifles.
The Cardinal Center has been around less than 20 years, but from its location along Interstate 71, it has grown into the largest privately owned recreational shooting facility in the country. The Cardinal Center hosts thousands of competitors on its 52 trapshooting fields, 14 skeet fields, 14 pistol, and small-bore rifle ranges, two sporting clays ranges, and an archery range.
Austin Ward, a 16-year-old from western Montana, made the 2,300-mile one-way drive to Ohio with his parents to take part in a recent national competition here. The three-time Montana state champion, who will be a high school junior in the fall, wanted the opportunity to face off against older, more experienced individuals.
“I like the atmosphere, and the focus it takes to compete in the biggest events like this one,” Ward said as the competition at Cardinal wrapped up. “It used to bother me, shooting in front of 3,000 people at Nationals, but now I'm used to it. Part of the challenge is being able to perform under that kind of pressure.”
Mike Bergman, who coaches Ward back in Montana, said the skill that puts Ward among the elite high school marksmen in the country combines with an unwavering commitment that you don't often see in a 16-year-old.
“Saying he is dedicated — that is an understatement. That is one of the big things with Austin — he is obviously very talented but he also truly loves the sport,” Bergman said. “He puts himself in tough competition so he can just keep getting better, but right now he is the best high school shooter in Montana. He shoots 100 straight targets in trap and skeet.”
In skeet shooting, clay targets are released from two posts, one high and one low, and at a variety of angles. Trap shooting involves targets released from a station positioned partially underground.
Ward placed among the top high-school-age marksmen here in Ohio, then he and his parents immediately headed west to a major competition in Wyoming. Travel is a big part of the game at the highest level of the sport.
“I coach a group in Billings, and Austin is from Darby, five and a half hours away, but he joined our team so he could compete against older kids who were national champions,” Bergman said. “He came to learn from them. Austin looked up to them, he shot with them, he learned a ton, and now he's every bit as good as them, or maybe even better.”
Ward, who attends a high school with a total enrollment of just 150 in his hometown near the Idaho border, was second nationally here as a 14-year-old two years ago. He said he found the Cardinal Center to be a very nice, very large facility with the room to accommodate a national-level event.
“I get to shoot a lot of different places and we've been on the road a lot, gone almost every weekend since school got out,” said Ward, who started shooting about eight years ago. “I'm really grateful for my parents — I couldn't do this without them.”
Ward, who shoots a Browning CX in competition, also plays basketball, rides snowmobiles, and likes to build trucks in the little spare time he has. He spends hundreds of hours each year practicing, firing thousands of rounds. Ward estimated that he shot 1,000 rounds just during the competition at the Cardinal Center.
“He's reached a level where he has ice in his veins,” Bergman said. “Some great shooters follow the line and when the wind changes, they don't do so well. Austin follows the targets, so he adjusts and he can shoot well in the wind, or in any environment.”
Ward, who hopes to shoot collegiately somewhere relatively close to home, was second at the Nationals here a year ago in the intermediate class, but moved up to seniors this time around and placed 18th as one of the youngest in his division.
“He has to beat the big boys now, but he'll get there,” Bergman said. “Austin has an instinct, a passion, and that little something extra. He's developed the mental part of the game. And watching him, you can tell he's different. Some people can just flat out shoot.”
First Published July 23, 2022, 12:00 p.m.
