Wichita State freshmen Brad Peters can shoot straight, or at least straighter than he could before joining the WSU Shooting Sports Team.

“It’s a great way to relieve stress and keep up with your hand-eye coordination,” he said. “Targets are flying about 43 mph in front of you. A lot of times there are two of them in the air at once, and it’s just a great feeling to really get out there and be able to hit a target.”

Peters and other team members have been training throughout the summer for the first annual “Shocker Fall Kick-Off Classic.”

The competition will be held at the Ark Valley Gun Club and will host two shoots from Sept. 5-7. The first shoot will be held on Friday for the sponsors. This competition gives the students a chance to raise money to support the team. The collegiate competition will be held on Saturday and Sunday with up to 125 shooters showcasing their marksmanship.

“We have 85 students signed up so far for the Shocker Fall Classic,” coach Tom Binyon said. “Our capacity is 125, and I am pretty confident that we will get that.”

Peters shot 97 out of 100 earlier this year when the team competed at the 2014 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships in San Antonio.

Peters joined the team just last year around Thanksgiving and has quickly become one of the top shooters on the team.

In order to join the team, a student must be enrolled in at least six credit hours and have a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Shooting experience is not required, Binyon said. Most of the students did not have any experience shooting clay targets prior to joining the team.

Those interested in joining the club have the option of two levels of membership.

There is a club membership that is $138, which covers shooting glasses and ear protection. This membership provides students with the opportunity to practice with the team three times a week without competing.

Those who wish to compete pay an additional $170 get a custom-made WSU shooting vest and range bag.

All other costs are paid for by the club, which covers travel expenses, ammunition and targets.

“We consider it a shooting scholarship,” Binyon said.

“Ultimately we would like to have enough shooters that we could field a team that could really start contending for championships,” Larry Richardson, the team’s faculty advisor, said.

“Success always breeds interest, and if we could start having some success with the competitions we are in here in the next year or so, we could start bringing some recognition to the university,” Richardson said.

Practices are held at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and at 9 a.m. on Saturdays at the Ark Valley Gun Club located at 117th and Oliver streets. Go to wsusst.com for more information about the club.