Students win scholarships, earn berths to NASP tournament in Louisville
Benton once again dominated at the Archery in Louisiana Schools state tournament held last weekend in Shreveport.
Benton Elementary, Benton Middle School and Benton High School all earned top honors in the team portion of both the bullseye and 3-D competitions at the tournament, which featured 946 students from 42 schools across the state
Students competed for $20,000 in scholarships and other prizes and awards as well as the chance to qualify for the National Archery in Schools Program National Tournament.
The ALAS program is administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Student archers competed in three divisions, including elementary school (grades 3-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12).
Top individual honors went to the top five individuals in each division. The top ten male and female archers in each division also receive an automatic berth to the NASP National Tournament.
The top male and female in each division also received a state prize bow. The top three male and female shooters in the bullseye portion received scholarship awards, as did the top male and female overall shooter in the 3-D competition.
Top male and top female overall went to Aidan Haire of Benton High and Amber Long or Benton Middle for their scores of 295 and 287 respectively. Each received a $5,000 scholarship for their accomplishment.
Nathan Delill of Buckeye High shot a 294 and Averie Halverson of Benton Middle shot a 286 and took second place male and female overall, earning $2,500 each.
Third place male and female overall went to Dakota Simpson of Caddo Magnet High and Kaylee Misenheimer of Benton High with scores of 292 and 285, earning a $1,250 scholarship each.
Simpson was also recognized as the top male archer in the 3-D event for his score of 291, and received an additional $1,250 scholarship. Abbie Rutledge of Benton High won top female in 3-D with a score of 285 and also received $1,250.
In all, 30 Louisiana archery teams and 60 individuals qualified for the NASP National Tournament, which will be held May 11-13 in Louisville, Ky.
