The Allen
County Intermediate Center (ACIC) will have 24 fifth-grade Sharp Shooters
participated in the National Archery in School Program (NASP) Eastern Nationals
on May 10 at the Kentucky Fair and Exhibition Center in Louisville.
The opportunity to participate in the next level of the NASP archery
tournaments reflects a steady climb for the four-year-old archery program at
the school. Started as an after-school program for kids interested in learning
the sport, the chance for 24 students to shoot against archers from mainly the eastern
half country is a testament to hours of practice eying the target.
“This
year, we began practicing in October, the week following Fall Break,” explained
archery coach Tracy Butler. “We have two
coaches available each day, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We
had over 100 students sign up this year, so we split them up between the three
days. Each archer was getting about an hour-and-a-half of practice each week.
Our regular season runs from October to March. When we ended our regular season
this year, we had 84 archers and we have competed in eight tournaments this
school year.”
Available
results from this year show that that archers posted a score of 1930 at the Bristow
10-meter Classic in November. In December, ACIC entered two teams at the
Morgantown Elementary Patriots Classic. Team 1 posted a score of 2016 with the Team
2 registering a score of 1853. Two teams were entered in January at the Warren
East Raider Classic (a state qualifying event) with Team 1 scoring a 2504 and Team
2 finishing with a 1969.
February
featured three events. At Logan County, Team 1 posted a score of 2444 with Team
2 scoring 1907. In a tournament at Russellville, Team 1 scored 2481 with team
two shooting a 1882. In the NASP Region 4 tournament on February 23, the ACIC team
shot a season-best 2714, finishing fourth out of eight teams in the field.
Prior to the state tournament, ACIC posted a score of 2683 in a state warm-up event
at Warren East.
The
top 24 archers and alternates advanced to the state NASP tournament. As a team, ACIC shot a
2701 to place 73rd out of 81 schools taking part in the elementary division.
The championships featured 944 elementary boys and 822 elementary girls from
schools across the Commonwealth.
Cole Jackson led the way for ACIC with a score of 264 (out of a possible
300). Overall, Jackson placed 78th in the boys’ field and 59th out of the 530 fifth-grade
archers in competition. Ryan Wolfe was next in scoring, finishing with a 249.
Landon Witt notched a 242, Eli Stamper posted a 239, with Caden Meador recording
a 232. Meador’s score of 232 ranked the fourth grader 157th in the field of 414
fourth-grade archers.
Quinn Hartman was tops among the girl archers for ACIC. Hartman’s score
of 240 was fourth overall for the Sharp Shooters. Hartman was 192nd of 463
fifth-grade girl archers in competition. Overall, Hartman was 278th in the
girls’ elementary field.
Despite their team finish, the squad later discovered that spots were available
for the archers to take part in the Eastern Nationals next month.
The sport of archery continues to increase in popularity and
participation across the Commonwealth and in schools across the nation. As more
and more students---from elementary to high school levels---take part, archery
tournaments have started to foster competition.
An archery tournament
consists of eight rounds. The archer will shoot five arrows to complete each
round. The first is a practice round shooting at 10 meters. The next three
rounds are scoring rounds at 10 meters. The fifth round is a practice round at
15 meters with the last three rounds being scoring rounds at 15
meters. Each round is worth 50 points.
“It is here in competition that they put
their focus, self-control, discipline, and patience to the test as they get to
perform for their parents, family, and friends through competition,” Butler
added.
The young archers have embraced the program
and the competition.
“My sister started shooting when it started
in the school and I thought it would be really cool to try it out as well,”
explained Quinn Hartman earlier this year. “Trying to hit the target and get
the best score intrigued me.”
Hartman’s class mate adds that he loves the
experience.
“It’s just a real fun sport to do,”
explained archer Cole Jackson. “Hearing the sound of the arrow hitting the
target is really satisfying. It’s a great sport to be in. I would like to do it
through high school and maybe in college.”
ACIC archers registered for the Eastern
Nationals are Rhett Bratcher, Haiden Brown, Gabby Corbett, Hayley Ditlevson,
Quinn Hartman, Joseph Hunley, Cole Jackson, Ty Jones, Weston McCoy, Caden
Meador, Dusty Overman, Braxton Patrick, Erin Penny, Tugra Semerci, Eli Stamper,
Ethan Stinson, Owen Talbott, Kash Taylor, Levi Temple, Hunter Threet, Caleb
Underwood, Landon Witt, Ryan Wolfe, and Andrew Woods.
The ACIC Sharp-Shooters will compete in the
Eastern Nationals on Thursday, May 10 at 12:15 p.m. (EDT). The archers will
shoot in the South flight---a division featuring 280 archers overall. Overall,
approximately 190 schools (maximum fifth grade students) will be in the event.
Middle and high school divisions will also be in competition. Team scores are
based on the highest 12 scoring archers (minimum four male, four female). With
up to 24 archers allowed per team, approximately 4,500 young archers could be
in competition in the elementary division alone.