Last year I won 1st place in the middle school division for Cullman County. I wanted to take the trophy home with me last year, but had to leave it at the school.”Elijah Edge, archery student
Photo shows the West Point High School Girls, who swept the Individual Girls Top 3 in the High School division and were part of the No. 1 Team in the High School division.
FAIRVIEW – The Third Annual Cullman County Archery Tournament was held at Fairview High School on Wednesday and Thursday, March 16-17. Elementary, middle and high school students from throughout the county came together and competed for trophies as well as bragging rights for the year to come.
“This is the Third Annual Cullman County Archery Championship which is a two-day event,” said Mark Moore, Fairview’s archery coach. “We have both the County and City Schools involved for a total of 15 schools. This event has grown every year; this is the third year we have hosted it. Archery is fun and it gets a lot of kids involved in a sport, especially the ones who aren’t involved in football, cheerleading, baseball or whatever. It’s just an awesome thing for the kids.
“Archery is probably the fastest growing sport across the nation as far as high school and middle school sports goes,” he grinned.
There are many advantages to participating archery. Children who take archery are taught discipline and mental focus. They learn to pay attention to detail and to be persistent. Patience is another very important life lesson that is gained – it takes lots of it while trying to hit that bull’s eye!
“This is my second year of archery,” said Elijah Edge, a ninth grader at Fairview. “Last year I won 1st place in the middle school division for Cullman County. I wanted to take the trophy home with me last year, but had to leave it at the school,” he grinned. “The tournament is a little harder this year because I am in high school, so there’s a little bit more competition.
“Archery is fun, the tournament is a good thing,” he added. “It lets the other schools get together and have a good time. Being in a tournament brings a lot of pressure, but being under pressure helps you to shoot well. It’s fun getting out and doing what you love; archery is something fun you can do with your friends.”
The tournament couldn’t have been done without lots of work from volunteers throughout the Fairview community.
“I’d like to give special thanks to Coach Hite and Coach Moore for the time they have dedicated to these kids,” said Tonja Grace, Fairview archery parent and team volunteer. “Thank you to Terry Gandy for helping and supporting our boys, and thank you also to Lance Gandy and Elijah Edge for spending the last three hours getting everything set up and ready.”
Archery has become a very popular sport among Cullman’s area youth. Back in January, through a local grant from the Heritage Archery Club, a Cullman chapter of the Bowhunters of Alabama, National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) archery equipment was awarded to four area schools. This was a result of the local club working together with the city and state in support and promotion of the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources’ Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division’s community archery strategy.
West Point School, Fairview High School, East Elementary School and Welti Elementary School all applied for the grant and received the equipment, purchased with private funds. Heritage Archery Club offered $5,000 in grant funds to area schools and partnered with the WFF Division and CP&R for distribution and promotion of the continued archery lifestyle here in Cullman and all of Cullman County.
An overview of the tournament results is below. For full standings, visit http://qrne.ws/naspfhs.
Tournament Results:
Elementary School Division
Teams
- East Elementary 3073
- Welti Elementary 2543
- Holly Pond Elementary 2472
- West Point Intermediate 2374
- Sacred Heart 2293
- Hanceville Elementary 2260
- Vinemont Elementary 2178
- Fairview Elementary 1639
Individuals- Boys Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Evan Johnson, EES 262
- Arden Crane, EES 261
- Jackson Bentley, EES 260
Individuals- Girls Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Katie Skinner, EES 280
- Haylie Segers, EES 266
- Reese Fox, EES 254
Middle School Division
Teams
- Cullman Middle School 3151
- West Point Middle School 3043
- Vinemont Middle School 2977
- Holly Pond Middle School 2865
- Fairview Middle School 2707
Individuals- Boys Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Colton Rayborn, CMS 280
- Connor Laney, CMS 275
- Cy Lambert, CMS 273
Individuals- Girls Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Sarah Hudson, WPM 272
- Abella Skipper, CMS 270
- Karley Blaylock, FMS 264
High School Division
Teams
- West Point High School 3360
- Fairview High School 3193
- Holly Pond High School 2720
Individuals- Boys Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Ethan Little, WPH 286
- Brenden Riethman, WPH 285
- Daniel Farr, WPH 282
Individuals- Girls Top 3 (see link for full standings)
- Savannah Campbell, WPH 286
- Madeline Whitesell, WPH 286
- Breanna Junkins, WPH 276
