The Warren Hills Archery Team participates in the statewide competition annually, and this year the competition is scheduled for March 5 in Warren Hills’ auxiliary gymnasium.
Hopes are high that the team will perform well at the state level in its bid to return to an annual national tournament in Louisville, KY, later this year.
The team will shoot and rank for the Virtual State Tournament for the high school division and will be attended and observed by an official from the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).
The archers will have practice rounds before the official scoring rounds, shooting three rounds at 10 meters and three rounds at 15 meters.
“I think we have pretty good odds” of winning a championship,” said freshman archer Emma Martin. “We’re a great group of shooters. We get pretty good scores.”
Sophia DePol, a senior, is the team’s current highest female shooter with a score of 265. The highest-scoring male on the Archery Team is Shawn Mott, an eighth-grade student with a score of 265. Warren Hills Middle School and High School students practice and compete together.
The Archery Team has experienced many State Title wins. Warren Hills Regional High School has gained eight consecutive wins.
The previous teams for Warren Hills have featured very talented archer’s in the past, including alumni Sara Quigley and Dylan Hourihan. Both ranked first for their respective divisions.
“I have high hopes we [the Archery Team] will place first,” said junior archer Sofia Schiano. “And, hopefully, one of us will place first.”
NASP’s National Tournament is an annual event that takes place in Louisville. The date has not been scheduled yet.
“We have a good chance of placing in the top 20 at team nationals,” Martin said.
NASP is a school program that involves youth from grades 4 to 12. Students participate in archery during their gym classes. The schools can engage in competitive meets before and after school for everyone.
Tryouts for teams usually start a couple months after the school year starts. The teams participate in state and national tournaments if they qualify.
Schiano said that archery, “helps me calm down after a rough day.”
“It’s definitely given me some solid friendships,” Schiano said. “Being new to Warren Hills, it really helped.”
The socializing factor of being on the Archery Team is a contributing factor as to why a lot of archers join the team.
For other archers, it’s the appeal of trying a new sport, or previous archers wanting to shoot in the high school league.
The team’s coaches are Technology Education Teachers Adam Slack and Mark Smith.
“They are great coaches,” Schiano said. “They are very supportive and give good advice when it comes to shooting.”
The Archery Team is open to new and incoming archers. Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. in the auxiliary gym.