Sutton’s Gavin Vander-Ley is continuing to make his mark in competitive shooting, earning a place among Nebraska’s top young shooters for the second year in a row.
VanderLey was named to the Nebraska AIM All-State Team for the second consecutive year, an accomplishment that reflects more than one strong performance at the range.
AIM, which stands for Academics, Integrity and Marksmanship, is the youth program of the Amateur Trapshooting Association. The program provides opportunities for young shooters to compete locally, statewide and nationally while developing their skills in competitive shooting.
The program includes several age classifications, allowing young shooters to compete against others at similar stages of development. VanderLey competes in the Junior category for shooters ages 16 and 17.
All-State recognition isn’t based simply on one successful competition. Shooters must meet AIM participation requirements during the target year to be eligible, including competing in designated events and recording hundreds of registered singles targets.
VanderLey earned his place on the 2026 Nebraska AIM All-State Team in the Junior category with a 95.43 percent singles average.
Put another way, Vander-Ley was breaking more than 95 of every 100 targets used to calculate that average.
In competitive shooting, where standings can be decided by a single target, maintaining that level of accuracy over the course of a season requires consistency. Being named to the Nebraska team for a second consecutive year shows VanderLey has been able to maintain that level of performance over time.
That consistency was on display again this summer when VanderLey traveled to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois, to compete at the 2026 AIM Grand.
More than 400 youth shooters participated in the competition. VanderLey competed in the Junior division, which was the largest age classification at the event with 181 shooters.
One of his strongest finishes came in Junior Skeet, where VanderLey tied for 12th place. In a division of 181 competitors, the finish put the Sutton shooter among the top 15 in his age group.
He also competed in sporting clays, finishing 81st out of 200 Junior-level competitors.
VanderLey continued his strong showing in the trap events. In trap singles, he recorded scores of 96 out of 100 and 95 out of 100, giving him a combined score of 191 out of 200 targets.
He added a 92 out of 100 in handicap trap and an 88 out of 100 in trap doubles.
The different events test shooters in different ways. Singles trap presents targets from a standard distance, while handicap competition places shooters farther from the trap based on classification. Doubles requires competitors to respond to two targets released at the same time, adding another challenge to an already precision- driven sport.
The trip wasn’t entirely an individual effort. VanderLey was also able to join other Nebraska shooters from the Grand Island and Omaha areas to form a team, giving the group an opportunity to compete together while representing Nebraska.
For young competitors, the AIM Grand offers the opportunity to see where they stand against shooters from well beyond their home ranges. With hundreds of competitors gathered in Sparta, even a difference of only a few targets can move a shooter considerably in the standings.
For VanderLey, his results showed he could compete in that environment.
His top-15 finish in Junior Skeet, strong trap scores and performance across multiple disciplines made for a successful trip to Illinois. But his second consecutive Nebraska AIM All-State selection provides an even broader picture of what he has accomplished.
Rather than representing one particularly good weekend, the recognition reflects the consistency VanderLey continues to develop as a competitive shooter and gives the Sutton community another reason to follow where he takes aim next.
VanderLey is shown during the 2026 Nebraska AIM trapshooting event recently, where he was honored as an All-State selection. COURTESY PHOTO | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
