Benton Middle and Benton Elementary win at Kentucky competition
Two Benton schools recently earned national titles at the National Archery in Schools Program National Tournament held in Louisville, Ky. last week.
Led by eighth-grader Aidan Haire, Benton Middle School earned Louisiana’s first-ever national championship in the Middle School division of the NASP tournament, with 3,404 points. Haire finished 10th individually in the boys middle school division, against competition from 205 schools nationwide.
Benton Elementary also captured the NASP/IBO 3-D Challenge national crown, with 1,361 points. The school finished fifth in the elementary division of the NASP tournament with 3,207 points. Kingston Elementary of Bossier Parish was sixth, just four points behind Benton Elementary.
Both Benton Middle and Benton Elementary claimed world titles at last year’s NASP World Tournament.
A total of 198 Louisiana student archers from 14 Louisiana schools, who qualified during the Archery in Louisiana Schools (ALAS) State Tournament in March, competed in the national event. The NASP National Tournament attracted nearly 13,000 students from across the nation.
Students and teams who qualified will be eligible to take part in the NASP World Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., June 24-26.
“These student archers spent countless hours honing their skills in preparation for the shoot and it paid off in a big way,’’ said NASP/ALAS state coordinator Robert Stroede. “We at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries would like to congratulate all Louisiana student archers and coaches who competed at the NASP National Tournament.’’
Haire was the top male shooter from Louisiana shooting a score of 292. That put him 10th among middle school boys and 47th overall amongst males. Shelby Stout, a sixth grader from Northwood High School, tied for 17th among middle school boys and 75th overall with a score of 291.
Abbie Rutledge of Benton Middle School, an eighth grader, finished 15th in the girls middle school division and 48th overall with a 290 score.
Madeline Lowry, a fourth grader from Benton Elementary, was second in the female elementary division of the IBO 3-D Challenge with a 282 score and teammate Eden Old, also in the fourth grade, was third in the female elementary division with a 278. A total of 392 female archers competed in that division.
Wayne Bearb of Acadiana High School was Louisiana’s top high school archer with a 291 score, which tied him for 43rd place nationally in the boys high school division.
Haughton Middle School finished 25th in the middle school division with a score of 3,283. It also received special recognition as a Top 3 finalist for the NASP Community Service award.
All students and schools who participated in the NASP National Tournament are part of the ALAS program, which is designed to teach students in grades 4-12 international target-style archery.
The ALAS/NASP program is available to all schools in Louisiana and grants are available to assist with funding. For more information regarding the ALAS program, contact Robert Stroede at 318-484-2276 or via email here.
