Local youth shooters visit Ephraim City Council

BySuzanne Dean
A group of young students wearing a matching jersey, with a person in the front holding a trophy.
Members of the Sanpete County Chapter of Youth Education in Shooting Sports (YESS) display some of their plaques and medals. In front (L-R) are Zariah Willden, Zander Willden and Jaxon Johnson. In back (L-R) are Richard Nielson (coach), Lilly Nielson, Chase Anderson, Kasch Willden and Kyan Mickelsen. The youth and their coaches visited with the Ephraim City Council at its meeting Wednesday April 2.

EPHRAIM—Sanpete County youth involved in the Sanpete County chapter of Youth Education in Shooting Sports (YESS) visited the Ephraim City Council last week to display some of their medals while their coach described their accomplishments.

The coach, Richard Nielson of Ephraim, said the club has been operating for eight years but hasn’t received a lot of recognition.

The club has 15 members, including students from Manti and North Sanpete high schools; Ephraim and North Sanpete middle schools; and Fairview Elementary. There are about 400 YESS members in the state as a whole.

Kyan Mickelsen, a Manti High student, has the highest average in the state in trap shooting, skeet shooting and shooting clays combined.

Chase Anderson, who also attends Manti High, is also “one of the top shooters in the state,” Nielson says. In 2023, he was named Rookie of the Year for Utah.

Jackson Johnson, a fourth grader at Fairview Elementary, was the winner in the novice division of trap shooting in a regional competition in Las Vegas.

And Lilly Nielson, who attends Ephraim Middle School, took second place in the intermediate ladies division in trap shooting and sporting clays at the Las Vegas competition.

Steve Willden of Fairview and Dale Nielson of Manti are assistant coaches for the club. For information about participating, call Richard V. Nielson at 340-0939.