Champion and Federal Premium Announce 2014 Tom Knapp Memorial Scholarship Winners
OutdoorHub 06.18.14
Champion Traps & Targets and Federal Premium Ammunition are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2014 Tom Knapp Memorial Scholarship. Tyler Koenen of Alden, Minnesota, and Jenna Jahnke of Stillwater, Minnesota, were presented their $5,000 awards at the Minnesota State High School Trap League Championship, an event that hosted more than 4,000 students June 6-10, in Alexandria, Minnesota.
Koenen will apply his scholarship to an education in mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, while Jahnke will use her award at Minnesota’s Century College, where she will study accounting.
The scholarship program was created to honor legendary exhibition shooter Tom Knapp, who passed away in April 2013. With the support of his wife, Colleen, Champion extended Knapp’s licensed products program to fund the scholarship. The two scholarship winners were chosen from applicants within the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League. The program carries on Knapp’s work as an ambassador and teacher who inspired an entire generation of new shooters like Koenen and Jahnke.
“Tom Knapp was actually the person who inspired me to get into clay target shooting, so it was a great honor to be one of the recipients of this award,” Koenen said. “Thanks to everyone who made this scholarship possible.”
Jahnke learned about Knapp through watching videos of his performances on YouTube. She plans to follow Knapp’s example of passing on the shooting heritage by staying involved with the Stillwater High School trapshooting program she helped launch.
“It’s pretty awesome. I like the routine of shooting and watching the targets break,” she said.
Considering the success of the scholarship, Colleen Knapp has generously agreed to extend the program into 2015 and beyond.
To have been eligible to receive a scholarship in 2014, students must have been high school seniors who actively participated in at least two seasons on a Minnesota State High School Clay Target League team and planned to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year school. They were required to have a 20 cumulative average from all clay target competitions, with at least a 3.25 grade point average on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
For more information on products from Champion and Federal Premium, visit www.championtarget.com and www.federalpremium.com.
To learn more about the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League, visit the League’s website at www.mnclaytarget.com.
