Three Team Champions Crowned at Third Annual State NASP Event

The event was held Thursday (March 12) at Tennessee Tech University’s Hyder-Burks Agricultural Pavilion. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Tennessee Tech sponsored the day-long event.

 

Van Buren County High School, in addition to winning the high school division, was honored for posting the best overall team score. Bledsoe County won the middle school division category and Meigs County was first in the elementary school division.

 

Team awards were presented following the day’s competition to the top three teams in each division. Placing second and third in the elementary school division were Warren County’s Bobby Ray Elementary and Crab Orchard Elementary from Cumberland County. Students from 12 schools participated in the elementary division.

 

The middle school division had 11 schools in the team competition. Finishing second to Bledsoe County was E.O. Coffman from Lawrenceburg and third was Siegel from Rutherford County. The high school division had Bledsoe County coming in second and Siegel finishing third.

 

Alberta Guitierrez from Clarksville’s Northwest High School had the honor of posting the top score by a female participant. Bledsoe County High’s Austin Boynton had the highest overall male score in leading his team to a second place finish in the High School Division.

 

Medals were presented to the top five female and male finishers in each division. In the elementary school division, Lyndsey James from Hickman was the winner. Caroline Love (Siegel) was second followed by Allison Hyde and Jenny Harris (both from Meigs County), and Justice Armstrong (Warren County).

 

Bledsoe County had three of the top five male scorers in the elementary division. John Mark Nale was first while teammates Dustin Boynton and Tyler Young were third and fourth. Coleman Elder (Meigs County) was second and Dawson Lefebvre (Van Buren County) was fifth.

 

E.O. Coffman took the top two spots for middle school females with Haley Turrentine and Hannah Crews posting first and second place finishes. Hannah Maynard (Van Buren County) was third with Katie Hill and Kailee Gerzema (Stone Memorial) rounding out the top five.

 

Holden Boynton (Bledsoe County) was the top middle school male shooter. Cory Jarvis and Dillon Crisp (both from Meigs County) followed with Cody Lowery (E.O. Coffman) fourth and Eli Arwood (Sweetwater) fifth.

 

 Among the high school female shooters, coming in second behind Northwest’s Gutierrez were Amy Bleasedale, Cheyenne Hutson (both from Van Buren), Laney Humphrey (Siegel), and Abby Barlow (Warren County).

 

Kane Maynard (Van Buren) was second by Austin Boynton among the high school male shooters. Michael Smith and Will Swafford (Bledsoe County) placed third and fourth and Kyle Pelham (Warren County), last year’s overall and middle school winner, placed fifth in his first year of high school competition.

 

Defending high school champion Northwest High did not complete its rounds as the threat of inclement weather in the Clarksville area forced the team to leave before it completed its flights.

 

Each student shot 30 arrows, 15 from 10 meters and 15 from 15 meters with a maximum score of 300. The top team and top five individuals (female and male) in each division automatically receive a bid to compete in the 2009 National NASP Tournament to be held May 8-9 at Louisville, Ky.

 

Tennessee began NASP in late 2004 with 12 pilot schools participating in the program. More than 100 schools now participate in the program. NASP is a 2-8 week curriculum taught during school that teaches International style target archery.

 

If a school or teacher is interested in starting a NASP program, please contact Don Crawford, Assistant Chief of Information and Education at Don.Crawford@state.tn.us or (615) 781-6542 or Matt Clarey, Regional Training Coordinator in TWRA Region III at Matt.Clarey@state.tn.us or (931) 484-9571.