Evanston’s Nico Elardi claims trap shooting titles

To call him a prodigy might be a bit of a stretch but Nico Elardi is definitely a young buck for the promise he has shown and the success he’s already achieved in the sport of trap shooting. He already has a few titles under his belt including Wyoming Class B state champion for hitting 195 out of 200 targets and then going 25-25 in a tie-breaking shoot-off in Torrington. Elardi is a 2015 graduate of Evanston High School. He is entering his senior year at the University of Wyoming pursuing his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering after attaining his associate’s degree at Western Wyoming College. Trap shooting may be a departure for the Elardi name associated with athletic prowess in motorsports like motocross, drag and snowmachine racing, in which Elardi, like his father and brother, has enjoyed his fair share of triumphs, not to mention injuries...Trap shooting differs from its cousin skeet shooting in a number of ways. Chief among them is skeet shooting utilizes two throwing machines and the target’s tragectories go from left to right and right to left; whereas, in trap shooting, the four-inch clay pigeons are tossed in a forward arc from a single machine. Trap shooting has five stations, aligned in an arc formation, from which competitors will shoot, according to Elardi. Station one would be on the extreme left with station three directly behind the trap machine; station five is on the extreme right. Elardi also detailed the three disciplines involved in trap shooting: singles, handicap and doubles. In singles, competitors fire rounds of 25 from the five stations. A box of shells equates to 25, as well. Handicap competition will have shooters firing from different distances depending on skill level, age and experience, with expert divisions shooting from farther back while beginners are closer. Doubles competition entails shooting at two targets. If a shooter is involved in all three disciplines, which Elardi most often tries to do, they will fire 300 rounds of shotgun shells per competition...more