CEDAR FALLS - The century mark, always a milestone for any trapshooter, was especially sweet for a pair of competitors at the Iowa State Trapshoot Wednesday.

With ideal weather conditions producing a whopping 38 perfect 100s in the Tom Dentel 100 Class Singles event, Tucker Schroeder of Ventura and Dennis Bigelow of Cedar Falls had special reasons for celebrating theirs.

For Schroeder, 16, the shoot produced his first perfect score in eight years of shooting. Bigelow, 79, has many 100s to his credit, but Wednesday's was his first since suffering a heart attack three weeks ago.

A former Iowa State Trapshooting Association President and contributory member of the Iowa Trapshooting Hall of Fame, Bigelow received two arterial stents following the heart attack, but was quick to recover his zeal for shooting and his sense of humor.

"I asked the doctor if I would be able to shoot, and he told me, 'Sure,'" Bigelow said. "I told him, 'That's great, because I never could before!'"

Bigelow proved his own assessment wrong with a perfect score in the Class Singles shoot, which was renamed this year in honor of Dentel, a prominent booster of the sport who passed away following the 2008 state shoot.

"I was walking the line early, and I said to myself that this would be a neat day to shoot 100, because Tom was a good friend," Bigelow said. "Believe me, I was thinking about him when it came down to those last five targets."

Schroeder had different reasons to think hard about his last group of targets, as the pressure of a perfect run from the 16-yard shooting line started to mount.

"With around 15-20 left I started thinking about it, and then it got worse on the last post," Schroeder said.

"I just reminded myself to worry about the next bird - that's the only thing you can do."

Schroeder comes from a family of shooters and has been attending the state shoot all his life, including the past five years as a competitor. He had reason for confidence coming into this one, following the recent purchase of a new Winchester Select Energy Trap shotgun.

"It's absolutely phenomenal," said Ventura Gun Club manager and youth coach Mark Scholl. "The kid got a new gun and now he's shooting it good, and it really gives you a lot of confidence to break 100 straight. Hundreds are tough to come by."

The first perfect score is something that sticks even with highly accomplished shooters, like former All-Iowa team member Steve Crow of Brooklyn.

"It's a milestone in the sport," Crow said. "I remember I broke mine in Knoxville around 1984 or something like that. It's something you never forget."

The state shoot continues through Sunday at the Cedar Falls Gun Club grounds at 6138 W. Cedar Wapsie Road.

Preliminary doubles

Resident

CHAMPION - Steve Crow (Brooklyn) 98; RUNNER-UP - Phil Thyer (Independence) 97; CLASS AAA - Kenneth Brandt (Hampton) 97; CLASS AA - (tie) Doug Stanek (Fort Dodge) 95, Gary Jacobsen (Jesup) 95; CLASS A - Dean Ekstrom (Cedar Rapids) 92; CLASS B - Perry Groen (Waverly) 95; CLASS C - Darwin Stock (Waverly) 88; CLASS D - (tie) Mike Mead (Stanton) 84, Steve Winkey (Aplington) 84; LADY - (tie) Lori Wickman (Clear Lake) 79, Karen Goodrich (Indianola) 79; VETERAN - Tom Shanahan (Dubuque) 84; SENIOR VETERAN - Virgil Lee Moyer (Sioux City) 84; JUNIOR - Tucker Schroeder (Ventura) 93; SUB-JUNIOR - Luke Erickson (Burlington) 55.

Non-resident

CHAMPION - (tie) Nathan Wayne Hofer (Huron, SD) 97, Brad Casner (Norborne, Mo.) 97; CLASS AAA - (tie) Noel Blaas (Fort Worth, Tex.) 96, Peter Martin (Vernal, Ut.) 96; CLASS AA - Larry Lark (Williamsfield, Ill.) 96; CLASS A - Leland Hassler (Princeton, Ill.) 94; CLASS B - James Beuning (Mahnomen, Min.) 94; CLASS C - John Turner (Peshtigo, Wis.) 92; CLASS D - Philip Roesener (Las Vegas, Nev.) 86; LADY - Carolyn Hosking (Madison, Wis.) 87; VETERAN - Bryan Pierce (Portage, Wis.) 92; SENIOR VETERAN - Lem Pierce (Bemidji, Min.) 93; SUB-JUNIOR - Chris Nagel (Mitchell, S.D.) 64.

Tom Dentel Class Singles

(All ties to be carried over)

Resident

CLASS D - Robert Olson (Stuart) 99; SUB-JUNIOR - Jarrod Hatfield (Ottumwa) 93; JUNIOR - Tucker Schroeder (Ventura) 100; LADY - Shelly Heitner (Fort Dodge) 99.

Non-resident

CLASS A - Harold Link (Caledonia, Min.) 100; CLASS C - Thomas Fierge (Perry, Mo.) 98; CLASS D - Philip Roesener (Las Vegas, nev.) 96; SENIOR VETERAN - Gary Gasaway (University Place, Wash.) 100; VETERAN - Jerald Mitchell (Butte, Mt.) 100; OPEN WHEELCHAIR - Raymond Pumel (Martell, Neb.) 98.

President's handicap

Resident

CHAMPION - John Combs (Washington) 97; 18-21 YARDS - Todd Locke (Fort Dodge) 96; 22-24 YARDS - Monte Kloubec (Amana) 97; 25-26 YARDS - Walter Gaskins (Des Moines) 97; 27 YARDS - Larry Bumsted (Eldora) 97; SENIOR VETERAN - Dave Anderson (Burt) 95; VETERAN - Marlin Cromwell (Woden) 97; SUB-JUNIOR -Jarrod Hatfield (Ottumwa) 90; JUNIOR - Alec Bush (Gowrie) 94; LADY - Beverly Dominacki (Bettendorf) 94.

Non-resident

CHAMPION - Scott Gens (Vernon Center, Min.) 99; 18-21 YARDS - Robert Apple (Chadwick, Ill.) 95; 22-24 YARDS - Donald Labarge (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) 98; 25-26 YARDS - J.D. Ellwanger (Omaha, Neb.) 95; 27 YARDS - Dean Neumann (Dakota, Min.) 99; SENIOR VETERAN - Tom giese (Rock Island, Ill.) 94; VETERAN - James Steffen (Rio Hondo, tex.) 97; SUB-JUNIOR - Daniel Grubbs (Weiner, Ar.) 94; JUNIOR - Nathan Hofer (Huron, S.D.) 96; LADY - Janice Rigler (Rock Falls, Ill.) 98; OPEN WHEELCHAIR - Raymond Pumel (Martell, Neb.) 88.