TROY – Wyatt Newby, a 2021 Troy-Buchanan High School graduate, knows how harrowing the timing leading up to triumph can be.

As a member of the Lindenwood University Shotgun Sports Team, which nabbed its 18th National Title last month, he is savoring the sweetness and satisfaction of the team’s latest victory.

But he is also reminded of a very close call that makes this win even more gratifying.

“Last year when we won the national championship, we actually tied Texas A&M, which is the first time it has ever happened in the organization for teams to tie,” Newby said. “So we had to shoot off for it and standing there watching the shoot off, it was absolutely gut-wrenching. It was like, if anyone messes up, we will lose. And luckily, we didn’t mess up and we won. When this year came around, it was a completely different feeling. We were ready to go and we felt like we had the talent to win again this year.”

Being a part of a team that cares about the sport and that consistently puts in the effort is the most rewarding aspect for Newby. Winning the Division I title with his teammates in his senior year at the ACUI/SCTP Collegiate Clay Target National Championship in San Antonio was the icing on an already remarkable and memorable year.

“It is great for me to stand there with my 45 other teammates that competed with me at nationals and to hear them say ‘we won’ is amazing,” he said. “It is amazing to see those who have won the title before and know the feeling and get to have it again. It is better to see the new members of the team get to feel that amazing accomplishment also.”

Newby has been involved in the sport of shooting since childhood. Prior to college, he was involved in the Amateur Trap Shooting Association. In 2020, he had his first major win as the association’s Grand American in the junior division. He says his family has participated in shooting competitions and hunting for years so as a kid it was a natural path to take.

In the college game, there are skeet singles and skeet doubles, trap singles and trap doubles, sporting and super sporting.

According to Newby, the team shoots primarily over and under shotguns with one person shooting a semi-automatic.

For trap events, Newby shoots a Beretta 687 silver pigeon gun and a Krieghoff K80 for skeet and sporting. During national competition week which began March 18, there were multiple events that counted toward the team winning the top prize.

In one of those events, American Trap, Newby was one of five team members that helped win the team event with a team score of 496/500. In another event, Double Trap, of which Newby was a part of, the total team score was 487/500.

“It’s a proud mom moment,” said Libby Newby, Wyatt’s mother.

This school year also marked Newby’s first major leadership role as one of 10 captains on the Lindenwood team. He says he has taken his trap captain role very seriously and approaches it from the perspective of family as the team is family-oriented.

Libby said her son is a natural teacher.

“He is very, very patient,” she said. “He will listen and then he will say, ‘I understand where you’re coming from but try this. See what happens if you do this.’ My son is a very practical teacher.”

Newby will graduate college with an undergraduate degree on May 10 in criminal justice and will begin graduate studies in the fall.

Following in his father’s footsteps of serving his community and country, Newby intends to pursue a career in law enforcement or as a firefighter. No matter what though, he still intends on being part of the sport “until I physically cannot do it anymore.”

Newby’s love of the sport is all about competition and adrenaline. He encourages anyone interested in the sport to join as it teaches discipline, respect, strength, problem-solving, sportsmanship, and stamina. But the greatest and sweetest triumph he says are the lifetime friendships he has formed within the sport.

“It’s just lovely to be able to show up to shoot and catch up with fellow shooters across the country,” Newby said.