ARCHERY: Vinemont Elementary, Vinemont Middle capture team titles at Alabama State Championship

Published 5:31 pm Friday, April 5, 2019

Vinemont Elementary and Vinemont Middle garnered their respective team titles at the Alabama State Championship in Montgomery last Friday.

The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) tournament, which took place over two days, featured teams from all across the state.

Vinemont (3,183) squeaked by East Elementary (3,177) for the top prize in the elementary division.

Welti (18th), Hanceville (21st) and West Point (22nd) also competed.

Tucker Robinson (285), Gavin Phillips (277), Cheston Wilhite (272), Addison Holcomb (268), Caroline Miller (264), Andrew Landreth (264), Emily Coats (264), Jayden Friedrich (262), E.J. Sharpe (259), Savannah Pack (258), Karson Adamson (255) and Vayda Yarbrough (255) had the counting 12 scores for the Eagles.

Robinson was the archer to beat in the elementary male division (317 archers). Phillips and Wilhite finished second and eighth, respectively, for Vinemont.

East Elementary’s Mercedes Wilhite (273) finished third out of 277 archers in the elementary female division. Rounding out the top 10 was East Elementary’s Ashley Cornelius (270 — fourth), Holcomb (fifth), East Elementary’s Jill Blocher (268 — sixth), East Elementary’s Emmaline Powell (266 — eighth) and East Elementary’s Karli Jo Ballenger (266 — 10th).

Vinemont (3,384) edged Cullman (3,346) in the middle school competition.

Fairview (18th), Holly Pond (20th) and West Point (23rd) were the other local participants.

Alexis Sartin (291), Savannah Mann (289), Dawson Wilhite (289), Ayden Thomason (287), Logan Ford (284), Kennedy Byer (280), Isaiah Jones (280), Trinity Sartin (280), Bella Gingrich (279), Tai Shurtleff (278), Ashton Kelley (274) and Rylan McRae (273) had the counting 12 scores for the Eagles.

Sartin was first out of 318 female middle school archers and second out of 808 female archers across all divisions.

Mann, Cullman’s Briana Willoughby (288) and Cullman’s Ava Ray (286) finished second, third and fifth, respectively, to round out top 10 local performances in the female middle school division.

Wilhite (289) had the highest score in the male middle school division (385 archers).

Cullman’s Evan Dockery (288), Thomason, Ford and Cullman’s Will Bolzle (284) were third, fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in their division as well.

West Point finished fourth in the high school division with 3,308 points followed by Cullman (3,277).

Vinemont (seventh) and Good Hope (ninth) also competed.

Cullman’s Kilie Cosper (288) and Abby Gragg (288) tied for fifth out of 213 female high school archers. West Point’s Sarah Hudson (286) and Lily Owens (283) were eighth and 10th, respectively.

West Point’s Matthew Dunagan (290) placed sixth out of 243 male high school archers.