Tabernacle takes gold at ACAA Archery Championships

Published 2:33 pm Monday, April 9, 2018

They only got a little over a month to practice, but that’s all they needed.

The Tabernacle Christian School archery team traveled down to Union Springs on March 23 and dominated. The Torches earned first-place finishes in two different disciplines at the Alabama Christian Athletic Association Championships at Conecuh Springs Christian School.

Dena Graben (gold medal), Lana Graben (silver medal) and Caleb Baldwin (bronze medal) led Tabernacle Christian to first place in the team compound bow division. That makes it two years in a row for Dena and Lana Graben to finish first and second overall at the ACAA Championships.

In the NASP division, Tabernacle Christian marched on for another first-place team finish thanks to a big day from Cameron Huie and Payton Vines, who finished first and second respectively.

Kimber Bates earned an individual gold medal for her performance in the compound bow elementary division.

“We didn’t actually start shooting until like the sixth of February, and then went down there on March 23 and walked away with the whole thing,” said Ron Huie, who helps coach the Torches.

The team practices from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. They didn’t begin shooting until early February following two weeks of safety lessons.

“It’s really cool because we’re the only school in this area that I know of that is doing this, officially,” said Huie.

Archery is currently considered an elective at Tabernacle Christian School but, according to Huie, plans are in place to make it an official sport in time for the 2018-19 academic year.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.