Three Woodford County archery teams toed the line at the National Archery in Schools Program state meet at the Kentucky Expo Center Saturday, March 14 in Louisville. Some of the best scores of the season were notched by the Woodford archers, with all three school programs putting up great finishes against the state’s best.
WCHS
In the bullseye division, Sam Pitzer led WCHS with a score of 277 and 13 tens as the team finished 50th out of 148 teams. Jacob Skeeters followed with a 276 and 14 tens, and Landon Klacik scored 275. Audrey Hanley paced the Woodford girls with a 274 and 12 tens, and Lucy Anderson added a 273 with 13 tens.
Caroline Martin, Laura Babcock and Kendyl Miller each finished with scores of 271. Lillian Cain followed with a personal-best 270 and 11 tens. Torry Switzer shot 267, while Clairissa Hill and Elan Brown each recorded scores of 266.
Allyana Cox finished with a 266, Samantha Cottingham scored 265 and Jack Garrison added a 262. Aleigha Lawson posted a 261 and Libby Rowe finished with a 259.
Brantley Cheek scored 257, Caden Fortney added a 253 and Paxton Browning finished with a 252. Jasper Browning recorded a 240, while Destivin Franklin shot 234. Riley Hanna finished with a 231 and Bronson Vanover rounded out the Woodford County High School bullseye scores with a 218.
The high school squad also competed in the 3D division, placing 10th out of 74 teams. Klacik led the team with a personal-best 285 to finish sixth in the high school boys’ division. Miller followed with a personal-best 281.
Garrison added a 274 and Babcock scored 271. Cottingham and Pitzer each finished with scores of 270.
Anderson and Skeeters both recorded scores of 263. Browning scored 262 and Fortney added a 260.
Rowe finished with a 255, while Cox and Aiden Kyle each posted scores of 248. Kaden Glass recorded a personal-best 245.
Sadie Hall shot a personal-best 244 and Lawson scored 243. J. Browning added a 242 and Cheek scored 239. Hill posted a 236 and Karlie Hughes recorded a personal-best 235.
Blake Brummel scored 208 and Katrin Strasser finished with a 200, while Vanover rounded out the Woodford County High School 3D results with a score of 180.
“One of the things that Coach Scott (Malcolm) spoke to the kids about prior to the competition today was that it’s the same bow, arrow and targets,” said WCHS Coach Chris Blanton. “We try to tell them not to be distracted by the moment and rise to the occasion. Most of this sport is the six inches between the ears. Most of the team are already technically sound archers and with maturity comes focus. The team is a joy to be around. They compete hard but enjoy each other’s company. They have earned their place here at this tournament and we urged the kids to have fun and enjoy it all. Our coaching staff loves that the kids work hard and come to practice ready and willing to get better.”
WCMS
In the middle school bullseye competition, WCMS finished 11th out of 130 teams, with Zoey Aspiranti leading the team with a 284 and 18 tens, finishing 13th in the middle school girls’ division. Addison Ware followed with a 279 and 15 tens to place 28th.
River Mitchum recorded a personal-best 271 with 10 tens, while Alex Hartzell and Liam Foley each shot 269. Kaitlin Christofoli and Brogan Webber both posted scores of 268.
Avery Bennett added a 265 and Hannah Jones scored 264. Abbigail Slugantz, Clara Slade and Amanda Dawkins each finished with scores of 262.
Samuel Watts recorded a 259 and Jessiel Alvor added a 257. Kayla Vittitow scored 255 and Olivia Seiler finished with a 251.
Ella Pitzer scored 247 and Malachi Dahl added a 246. Katie Bowling finished with a 245 and Melinda Doyle posted a 243.
Rowan McLeod and Max Hutchison each shot 242. Ella Metcalfe finished with a 235 and Landon Cairell rounded out the middle school bullseye results with a 229.
In the 3D division, the team finished seventh out of 65 teams. Slugantz led Woodford County with a personal-best 281 to finish fourth in the middle school girls’ division. Aspiranti added a 273 and Ware posted a personal-best 270.
Foley recorded a personal-best 267, while Webber and Hartzell each scored 259.
Bennett also shot a personal-best 259, while Jones added a personal-best 258. Jude Butler scored 255 and Alvor finished with a 253.
Birch Owen recorded a personal-best 249, while Hailey Line posted a personal-best 243. Pitzer finished with a 242 and Seiler scored 241.
Addyson Hall recorded a personal-best 238 and Jordyn Moberly posted a personal-best 234. Annie Babalmoradi and Ashton Lacefield each scored 230.
Watts added a 229 and Wyatt Jessie scored 225. Quincy Couch finished with a 222, while Eleanor Lewis scored 215 and Madison Morris added a 210. Laci Short rounded out the middle school 3D results with a score of 184.
“This years team has been so consistent and we could not be prouder of their 11th place bullseye and 7th place 3D finish,” said Coach Jeremy Kifer. “This team keeps improving and we are looking forward to having a few more weeks to work with them as we prepare for Nationals.
Southside Elementary
Southside Elementary also competed in the bullseye division and placed fifth out of 105 teams, led by Charlotte Shumate with a 265 and 10 tens. Zoe Ratliff followed with a 264 and 10 tens, while Issac Dahl posted a personal-best 263 with nine tens. Henry Venis also scored 263, and Natalie Simpson added a personal-best 262.
Ella Clark finished with a 260 and Reece Jordan scored 247. McKinley Parsons and Mason Ford each shot 241, with Ford recording a personal best. Cole Nickerson added a 240.
Autumn Peel-Noel finished with a 234, Bella Babcock scored 232, and Autumn Cook recorded a personal-best 227. Tucker Browning shot 225 and Ian Honican added a 218. Tyler Blanton finished with a 205, while Vivian Timmons scored 199.
Dawson Huffman and Benjamin Lala each posted scores of 197, with Huffman recording a personal best. Kip Gotcher rounded out the Southside bullseye scores with a 131.
Southside also competed in the 3D division, finishing seventh out of 29 teams. Babcock led the team with a personal-best 251 to finish ninth in the elementary girls’ division, while Venis also scored 251.
Shumate followed with a 245 and Clark posted a 243. Peel-Noel also shot 243 while finishing first among fourth-grade girls.
Dahl added a 238 and Ratliff scored 232. Nickerson recorded a personal-best 219, while Parsons finished with a 214 and Simpson scored 208.
Blanton posted a 191 and Gotcher rounded out the Southside 3D results with a score of 134.
Coach Robert Aldridge said he was proud of how mature his athletes at Southside Elementary are for their age. “The kids have to mature. They have to be able to walk on that range and be in charge of their targets because they are shooting with high school kids. Our kids have been mature and mentally collected. We talked about this in our parent meeting and the kids do a great job meeting the expectations. Our kids didn’t have their best day today, but they also didn’t have their worst day. This is the favorite team I’ve ever coached and I started coaching in 2009. They try so hard and have that willingness to learn. We need more parent volunteers in Woodford County so the other elementary schools can get their programs up and running. That helps the middle and high school teams by having well-trained archers.”