The following story was published in Issue 1 of The Paolite, 2017.
This summer, the PHS archery team took their second trip to the World Tournament, this year held in Orlando, Florida. The tournament took place on July 20-21. Twenty-one archers traveled to the contest for an amazing experience and opportunity from Wednesday, July 19 to Sunday, July 23.
In order for the team to participate in the tournament, they had to qualify by competing at qualifiers, such as the Indiana State Tournament and the National Tournament, which went well for the team.
To prepare for Worlds, the team focused on improving their individual weaknesses. Everyone worked on improving their technique and to have better accuracy. The team did several activities at practice to work on getting smaller groupings.
The team’s overall score was 3,179, with the highest score on the team being senior Anna Hutcheson with a 280. Right behind Hutcheson was eighth grader Kennon Scott with 279 and sophomore Tony Lowe with 277.
“There is always something to improve on, but it is impressive for our archery team to already be making it to Worlds in our second year competing,” said Hutcheson.
Archery coach Kyle Woolston feels the team did very well considering none of the 2017 graduates attended the event. The team also took several younger members so they could get experience at a larger tournament.
While in Florida, the team did not just compete. They also spent time on the beach and boardwalk in Daytona, took a dolphin viewing boat ride and toured a local chocolate factory. On the way home, the team stopped in Georgia to get Georgia peaches.
This upcoming year will be challenging since they have a young team. This past year, two of the team’s top shooters graduated, leaving the team to rebuild their top ranks.
“With the potential of the new archers, there is a lot of potential on the team,” said Woolston.
The new season is set to begin in mid to late October.
Story by Avery Owens
