Routt County sent just a handful of athletes to the Colorado 4-H State Shoot last month, and despite the disadvantage, the team returned with a plethora of first-place and podium finishes. 

“At one point in the Air Rifle and in the .22 Rifle, the Routt County team was winning or getting second as a team, and they were only sending three scores because our team is so small,” said Jordan Cranwell, a 4-H volunteer and mother of two local 4-H athletes. “All the teams they competed against were sending four scores.”

Among those young athletes from Routt County was 14-year-old Mia Cranwell, who earned seven first-place finishes across many different disciplines including .22 Rifle Hunt, .22 Pistol and 4P Air Rifle, among others. 

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Mia, a South Routt resident, practices year-round with her coach Rick Kirby and said it becomes much more difficult to handle the wide variety of disciplines during the actual competition. 

“Every gun is pretty much the same, just a different site,” Mia said. “It is easy to practice, but it is kind of hard to compete with all of the guns because you are shooting back-to-back for several hours.”

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Mia was proud of her performance at the state shoot despite not getting scores in certain disciplines where she knows she is capable. Other top finishers at the state shoot included Tirzah Herold, who earned top honors in Junior Archery Compound Unlimited, and Charlie Wiedel, a third-place finisher in Junior Archery Compound Limited.

Competing at the Junior level means these athletes will have to wait until they are old enough to qualify for the National Shoot. Mia will have that opportunity next year. She plans to continue practicing Air Rifle indoors throughout the winter months and will soon shoot at the Olympic Training Center for more experience. 

Mia is itching to compete in Seniors and hopes to soon compete among the country’s top talent at Nationals. 

“I’m not really nervous because I already shoot better than a lot of the Seniors anyways,” Mia said. “The only thing different is Nationals, which I am really excited about.”

Colorado 4-H State Shoot Results
Archery Compound Limited
Jr Individual — 3. Charlie Wiedel.
Jr Team — 7. Routt County.

Archery Compound Unlimited
Jr Individual — 1. Tirzah Herold.
Sr Individual — 2. Teagan Herold.

.22 Rifle
Jr Hunt Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell.
Jr Hunt Team — 1. Routt County.
Jr Scope Individual — 2. Mia Cranwell.
Jr 4P Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell; 2. Tirzah Herold; 7. Myka Cranwell.
Jr 4P Team — 1. Routt County.
Jr 3P Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell; 2. Tirzah Herold; 5. Myka Cranwell.
Jr 3P Team — 1. Routt County.

Air Pistol
Jr Air Pistol Individual — 2. Mia Cranwell.
Jr Team Air Pistol — 4. Routt County.

Air Rifle
Jr OOH Individual — 2. Mia Cranwell; 3. Tirzah Herold; 8. Myka Cranwell.
Jr OOH Team — 2. Routt County.
Sr OOH Individual — 3. Teagan Herold.
Sr OOH Team — 6. Routt County.
Jr Utility Individual — 2. Myka Cranwell.
Jr Utility Team — 4. Routt County.
Jr 4P Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell; 2. Myka Cranwell; 3. Tirzah Herold.
Jr 4P Team — 1. Routt County.
Sr 4P Individual — 4. Teagan Herold.
Sr 4P Team — 6. Routt County.
Jr 3P Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell; 2. Tirzah Herold; 4. Myka Cranwell.
Jr 3P Team — 2. Routt County.

.22 Pistol
Jr .22 Pistol Individual — 1. Mia Cranwell.
Jr .22 Pistol Team — 6. Routt County.

Shotgun
Jr Skeet — 4. Charlie Wiedel.