After over nine months of extended anticipation, junior Kathleen McCracken was able to see her Girl Scouts Gold Award project come to a partial close.

The project itself entailed a Saturday morning shoot for youth trap shooters in the surrounding area.

“High schoolers in the area took part in it,” McCracken said. Edwardsville, Alton, Metro East and Troy were represented, totaling up to 24 participants.

The “1st Annual Joe Meyer Memorial Shoot” took place at the Edwardsville Gun Club this past Saturday morning. The doors opened at 8 a.m., and shooting started at 9 a.m.

“Joe Meyer was an avid trap shooter in the area,” McCracken said, explaining the thought process behind her project. “There was a fund put in place when he died. This fund has helped the trap team immensely.”

For the Girl Scouts Gold Award, the Girl Scout must first have an idea that will benefit the community. From there, they must present it to a special committee, according to McCracken. After being approved, the scout can start her preparation process. McCracken’s project was approved last December.

“Once you’re finished with the project, you present again to receive recognition,” McCracken said.

For her project, McCracken wanted to incorporate the two major activities in her life. With the shoot, she was able to do this, and help the community. “The whole goal of mine was to promote youth trap shooting in the area,” McCracken said.

After the shoot itself, awards were presented in two separate categories. The first category involved individual shooters. The shooters shot four rounds, each made of 25 clay targets, each shot in a different direction from the trap machine. Placement in the category depended on how many targets broke from the bullet.

Alex File, with Metro East High School, took first place with a score of 99 Clays. Ben Moyer, of Alton high school, took home second place just one behind File. Junior Garrett helms from Edwardsville shot 97 Clays, earning third place individually.

The second category was the squad shoot. Each squad is made up of 5 students. One by one, they shoot five targets at a time, and then wait for their turn again until they’ve shot enough times.

Edwardsville placed first and second in this particular category. In first place, was sophomore Amanda Gunderson, Helms, sophomore William Wallace, sophomore Willem Skigen, and sophomore Alexander Ligman. Close behind in second place was senior Tyler Haislar, senior Seth Weshinskey, sophomore Gabriel Abernathy, senior Nathan Head, and senior Matthew Haas. Alton placed third in the category.

Trap coach Sgt. Dennis Gunderson thought that the day itself was “kind of perfect.” According to Sgt. Gunderson, the scores were decent, the weather was perfect, and McCracken had everything set up for the day. He was impressed with how the shoot ran.

“It was neat to show that the Girl Scouts can be involved with other things that they are not known for,” Sgt. Gunderson said.