White County won its first state championship crown in the high school division while Rutherford County’s Whitworth Buchanan Middle School and Christiana Elementary are repeat winners in their respective divisions in the Eighth Annual Tennessee National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) State Championship.
Close to 1,600 students representing more than 80 schools were registered in the event held at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum which concluded Friday evening. Two flights opened the tournament on Thursday while six flights were held Friday.
White County High shot a score of 3,300 on its way to slipping past the defending champion, CHET. CHET, comprised of home school students in the Nashville area, shot a 3,270. Siegel High from Murfreesboro notched a third place finish for the second consecutive year with a 3,224. Oakland High from Murfreesboro was fourth with a 3,132, with Van Buren County had a score of 3,123, one point ahead of Central Magnet School from Murfreesboro for fifth place.
Whitworth Buchanan had a total of 3,259, surpassing last year’s winning total of 3,144 in the middle school division. Rutherford County’s Rockvale Middle School was runner-up for the second straight year, scoring 3,147. Christiana was third at 3,108, followed by Central Magnet 3,088, and Harrogate’s Forge Ridge School with a 3,075 to round out the top five.
Christiana had a score of 3,045 an improvement of 85 points from last year in repeating as the elementary division champions. Buchanan Elementary from Murfreesboro was second with a 3,001, followed by East Montgomery 2,904 in third. Browns Chapel was fourth with a 2,823 and a pair of Warren County schools, Dibrell Elementary (2,792), and Hickory Creek (2,788) finished in fifth and six places.
White County’s Isaiah Gardenhire was top male and overall shooter with a 294. Isaiah, a junior at WCHS, had 26 shots of 10 (out of 30 total shots) along with a pair of 9s and 8s. Laurel Thompson, a freshman representing CHET, was the top female shooter with a 287.
Team awards were presented following Friday’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, middle school and elementary school divisions. 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 elementary division were Meredith Anderson (269, Christiana), Jana Denning (263, Hickory Creek), Morgan Davy (261, Buchanan), Chelsea Messick (259, Buchanan), and Sydney Carroll (259, Browns Chapel). The top elementary division boys were Garrison Brothers (276, Buchanan), Nathan Barksdale (274, East Montgomery), Alex Petty (274, Stone), Cole Duggin (271, Christiana), and Tucker Gharing (269, Christiana).
In the middle school division, the girls were led by Alexandria Brothers (284, Whitworth Buchanan), Emilee Scott (282, White County), Jessika Benson (280, 4H Rutherford County), Rachel Graves (278, Forge Ridge), and Brianna Yeary (274, Forge Ridge). The top five middle school boys were Connor Smathers (288, Central Magnet), Cole Diamand (282, Oakland), Jacob Faulk (281, Whitworth Buchanan), Devin Tate (279, Oakland), and Dalton Bates (278, Warren County).
Following Laurel Thompson’s 287 in the girls high school division were Jacklynn Bryant (285, White County), Anna Buri (283, CHET), Kayla Hillis (283, Van Buren), and Natalee Boles (283, Siegel).
In the male high school division, completing the top five behind Isaiah Gardenhire‘s 294 were Craig Bowen (288, Central Magnet), Hunter Mason (286, Van Buren County), Deallen Sullivan (282, Bledsoe County), and Jordan Qualls (280, Oakland).
The top team and top 10 individuals in each division automatically received a bid to compete in the 2014 National NASP Tournament to be held May 9-10 in Louisville, Ky.
Sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Tennessee began NASP in late 2004 with 12 pilot schools participating in the program. More than 280 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, 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 931 484-9571.