Rising Sun native to compete in national shooting sports competition

Jake Livingston, a lifelong Rising Sun resident and recent graduate of St. Mark’s High School in Delaware, is set to represent the state of Maryland at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Competition in Grand Island, Nebraska at the end of the month.

Livingston is one of four athletes that makes up the team representing Maryland. He will be joined by Somerset County’s Cole Cervantes, Kent County’s Samantha Jayne and Carroll County’s Evan Smith.

Livingston and his fellow nationals teammates qualified by first reaching the state competition and placing in the top 10 amongst state competitors. From there, the top 10 finishers are selected to the state practice team. The top four members of the state practice team are selected to represent the state of Maryland at the national competition. This year marked Livingston’s second time qualifying for a spot on the state practice team. He first qualified for the practice team during the pandemic. The state of Maryland did not compete at nationals that season.

Livingston is in his eighth year as a member of the Cecil Young Guns 4-H team.

“It is a high honor to have competed against the best Maryland shooters and qualify for the team to represent our town, county and our great state,” Livingston said in a statement.

The team will compete in three types of shotgun shooting, including trap, skeet and sporting clays. Each participant will be ranked individually and contribute to an overall team score. Maryland’s shotgun team placed 15th out of 34 competing states in the national competition last summer. Last year’s top five states in shotgun shooting were Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia and South Dakota.

“The competition will be high, especially against the southern and western states, but our team is well-rounded in all disciplines,” Livingston said.

The 4-H Cecil Young Guns team is coached by Curtis McGrady with practices held at the Oxford Gun Club in Oxford, Pennsylvania. Livingston credited his former 4-H coaches Karl LaSala and Ron Mullins for encouraging him to pursue the sport.

“I am so grateful for all the support I have received on this exciting journey,” Livingston said in a statement. “I am also grateful for Cecil’s neighbor, the Oxford Gun Club, and its members as they host the Young Guns team for our practices and county shoot. There are so many ladies and gentlemen of the club who have been influential in the development of my skill and character and who have supported me in this sport.”

The national competition is slated to start June 23 and run through June 28.