A&M-Victoria student finds mark in shotgun competition
The rhythmic echo of shotgun blasts hitting clay used to fill quiet country pastures near Victoria, where 11-year-old Braxton Rokyta first discovered his passion.
What began as casual target practice with friends and family would lead Rokyta, now 19 and a freshman at Texas A&M University-Victoria, toward a road filled with discipline, precision and unexpected triumph in the world of trap and skeet.
Rokyta, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in General Business, recently took home the top prize at the 12th Annual Tropical Memorial Shoot in Corpus Christi with a High All Around score of 394 out of 400. He was competing as part of the A&M-Victoria Trap & Skeet Shooting Club.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” the Victoria native said. “I really couldn't believe that I pulled it off.”
The competition was held over the course of two days from Dec. 5-7 at the Corpus Christi Gun Club. Members of Rokyta’s squad for the competition consisted of Mike Hessong, Paul Smith, Keith Kann and Barrett Irwin. In addition to his High All Around score, Rokyta also scored 198/200 in singles, 98/100 in doubles and 98/100 in handicap.
“I’ve known Braxton for a long time. I’ve seen him grow as a shooter to the point of winning the 4H national championship last year in Nebraska,” said Daniel White, interim associate provost of Academic Affairs and the faculty advisor of the club. “I’m proud to have Braxton leading our team here at A&M-Victoria. He is a great example of a student-athlete. Braxton is well known among youth competitive shooters in Texas and should help grow our program.”
The competition in Corpus Christi itself was grueling, involving two fields, 200 total singles shots and a three-hour break between sessions, Rokyta said. But his journey into trap and skeet is more than just hitting targets. Rokyta credits the sports with molding him as a person as well.
“It’s made me more of a humble person, for sure,” he said. “And I love the social aspect of it. Just going out and meeting people who love the same thing you do. I can go up and talk to anyone now, sometimes I’ll start talking to people like I’ve known them for 10 years.”
Currently a member of the A&M-Victoria Trap & Skeet Shooting Club, Rokyta said he is looking forward to regional and state qualifiers. In the future, he hopes to win major competitions and to secure sponsorships from a gun or ammunition company.
“It’s the rush of it all,” Rokyta said. “When you really run an event, you get this incredible adrenaline rush, and it just blows your mind on how much you can do.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.