Georgia Archery Students Aim High at 4th Annual NASP State Tournament

While Woodlawn Elementary School (Chatsworth, Ga.) may have captured the highest overall score at the 4th Annual National Archery in the Schools Program State Tournament on Feb. 12 at the Perry Fairgrounds and Agricenter, all of those who participated showed exceptional skill.

The tournament, coordinated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, is an annual event open to all state schools enrolled in the National Archery in the Schools Program.

Woodlawn’s score of 3,145 also won the elementary division and qualified them for an automatic berth to the NASP National Tournament scheduled for May 7-8 in Louisville, Ky. Nearly 6,000 student archers are expected to compete at the national level, making the competition the largest archery tournament in the world.

Morgan County Middle School (Madison) won the middle school division with a 2,852 score and Bishop Hall Charter School (Thomasville) won the high school division with a score of 2,981. Those three schools, along with nine others in the state, qualify to join schools from across the country to vie for scholarship money and prizes at the national tournament.

Dodge County Middle School’s Joshua Peterson won a $1,000 college scholarship by posting the highest overall individual male score with a 286 (out of 300). Woodlawn Elementary’s Morgan Ray won top individual female honors and a $1,000 scholarship with her score of 277.

Individual Division winners (male and female) include:

· Elementary School – Male: Jordan Priest (Woodlawn Elementary) won with a score of 271.
· Elementary School – Female: Morgan Ray (Woodlawn Elementary) won with a score of 277.
· Middle School – Male: Joshua Peterson (Dodge County Middle) won with a score of 286.
· Middle School – Female: Shelby Carter (Marion County Middle) won with a score of 251.
· High School – Male: Josh Broxton (Miller County High) won with a score of 280.
· High School – Female: Ariel Beheeler (Bishop Hall High) won with a score of 258.

Other schools which qualified for NASP Nationals based on their score were: Bay Creek Elementary (Loganville), Youth Elementary (Loganville), Lake Park Elementary (Albany), Lee County Elementary (Leesburg), Funston Elementary (Funston), Dodge County Middle (Eastman), East Laurens Middle School (East Dublin), Marion County Middle School (Buena Vista) and Miller County High School (Colquitt).

More than 450 archers throughout the state participated in the annual state tournament. Archers shot three rounds of five arrows each from 10 and 15 meters. Teams of 16-24 students from each school competed in three separate divisions: elementary (4th-6th grade), middle (7th-8th grade) and high (9th-12th grade).

For a complete list of winning archers and schools, visit www.georgiawildlife.com (select “Education” “Shooting Sports Programs” and “NASP”).

The 4th annual state tournament was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, Mathews, Inc. and Morrell Targets.

More on NASP

NASP is an in-school archery curriculum that meets all education department standards. Only schools that are certified in NASP through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are qualified to compete in the State Tournament. Schools in nearly 70 counties in Georgia are NASP certified.

The program promotes instruction in international-style target archery to improve educational performance and participation in shooting sports. Research has shown that the program, administered through a minimum two-week course during the school year, improves class attendance and behavior. NASP universal fit bows make it possible for students of all sizes and genders to succeed in archery while raising self-esteem levels and improving hand-eye coordination during physical activity.

NASP is taught in 46 states as well as Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. To date, more than five million students have participated in the program.

For more information on assisting schools bound for the NASP National Tournament with funding or NASP in Georgia, call Jennifer Pittman at (770) 918-6416 or e-mail jennifer.pittman@gadnr.org.

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