Haley Corder, of Bledsoe County, a freshman had the top individual score for a girl at the State NASP Tournament. She shot a 282 (out of a possible 300). She is pictured with freshman Hunter Mason of Van Buren County who shot a record 293 for the tournament.
Van Buren County High School claimed its fourth state championship crown while Rutherford County schools, Rockvale Middle and Buchanan Elementary each won their first titles at the Sixth Annual Tennessee National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) State Championships held at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum.
More than 1,200 students registered for the event with 42 schools from across the state posting full squads. Competition began Monday evening with a pair of flights while six flights were held on the full day of competition on Tuesday.
The first place teams, the teams meeting the division qualifying score, and the top five female and male individuals from each division qualify for the NASP National Tournament. The 2012 NASP National Tournament is May 11-12 in Louisville, Ky.
Van Buren County shot a 3,186, 13 points less than last year’s winning total but 43 points higher than second-place finisher CHET of Nashville. White County High of Sparta was third with a 3,117 and Bledsoe County and Siegel of Murfreesboro tied for fourth with scores of 3,100. CHET, White County, Bledsoe County, and Siegel all qualified for a trip to the national tournament for posting a score of 3,000 or more in the high school division.
Van Buren County High was led by freshman Hunter Mason who shot a State NASP Tournament best of 293, one point ahead of Bledsoe County’s Chris Frady, the top overall male shooter from last year.
Freshman Haley Corder from Bledsoe County was the top overall female shooter with a 282. She edged Siegel junior Leanetta Anderson, a former overall champion as middle school student, by one point.
In the elementary school division, Buchanan shot a 2,727, 15 points higher than another Rutherford County school, Christiana. White County was third with 2,710, West Elementary of McMinnville was fourth with a 2,708, and Rockvale was fifth at 2,698. Defending elementary champion Hickman County was sixth at 2,628.
Rockvale posted a 3,115 to win the middle school division. In second place was White County (3,079) followed by Van Buren County (3,024), Meigs County (2,887) and Bledsoe County (2,885). White County and Van Buren each qualified for a trip to the national tournament as a result of having a score of at least 2,900 in the middle school division.
Team awards were presented following Tuesday’s competition to the top three teams in each division. Medals were presented to the top five female and male finishers in the high school and middle divisions and to the top five finishers from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Each student shot 30 arrows, 15 from 10 meters and 15 from 15 meters with a maximum score of 300.
In the elementary division, the top five girls in the fourth grade were Leah Zachary (244, Rockvale), Bailey Moore (234, Christiana), Troi Martin (220, Christiana), Anna Burris (217, Rockvale), and Martha Townsend (207, McMinnville Bobby Ray). The top five fourth grade boys were Patrick O’Connor (252, LaVergne Lake), Brandon McClure (249, Christiana), Eli Jones (240, West), Austin Davis (234, Christiana), and Avery Nail (230, Christiana).
The top shooters for girls in the 5th grade were Delany Simonis (267, CHET), Natalie Hester (254, Buchanan), Hannah Ridgeway (248, Buchanan), Emily Turner (242, West), and Scottie Harrison (238, East Montgomery). The top boys in the 5th grade were Conner Smathers (267, LaVergne Lake), Matthew Carmichael (261, Buchanan), Jax Hosford (255, Rockvale), Zach Britt (246, LaVergne Lake), and Austin Foster (243, Browns Chapel).
In the sixth grade, the top girls scores were by Angelle Howard (261, White County), Megan Henry (256, White County), Avery Enroth (244, Rockvale), Joy Everett (243, Warren County), and Macie Garrette (239, Hickman County). The top scores by 6th grade boys were Clay Howard (271, White County), Conner Furhman (268, Rockvale), Elijah Barritt (268, Rockvale), Brett Howard 258, White County), and Trayton Rackley (253, Warren County).
In the middle school division, the top five girls were Jacklynn Bryant (276, White County), Laurel Thompson (271, CHET), Sheridan Hitchcox (270, CHET), Kenzie Simmons (269, L.I.F.E. Home School), and Brittany Withrow (267, Meigs). The top five middle school boys were Michael Harris (290, Rockvale), Johnathan Wilson (284, Lake City), Mattew Underwood (282, Bledsoe County), Michael Maier (278, Rockvale), and Nick Hughes (277, White County).
Following Haley Corder and Leanetta Anderson, rounding out the top five female shooters from the high school division were Laura Kulp (276, Siegel), Victoria French (273, Lawrence County), and Sonora Hutson (271, Van Buren County).
In the male high school division, completing the top five behind Hunter Mason and Chris Frady were Jeremy Harris (282, Siegel), Jordan Jellinick (281, White County), and Chris Swindell (277, White County).
Sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee began NASP in late 2004 with 12 pilot schools participating in the program. More than 250 schools now participate in the program. NASP is a 2-8 week curriculum taught during school that teaches International style target archery.
If a school or teacher is interested in starting a NASP program, please contact Don Crawford, Assistant Chief of Information and Education at Don.Crawford@tn.gov or 615 781-6542 or Matt Clarey, Regional Training Coordinator in TWRA Region III at Matt.Clarey@tn.gov or 800 262-6704 or 931 484-9571.