East Elementary’s archery squad smiles for a photo after winning the 2018 NASP Eastern National IBO 3D Challenge in Louisville, Ky. last Saturday with a score of 1,660 points.

East Elementary simply couldn’t miss this past weekend.

Just ask the trophy case.

The school delivered a first-place performance at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Eastern National IBO 3D Challenge in Louisville, Ky. following a team total of 1,660, which edged Benton Elementary in Louisiana (1,631) by a slim 29-point margin.

Hayden Scott’s fantastic 283-point effort, which was best on the six-person squad, was sixth overall out of 598 male archers in the elementary division. He also accumulated 17 tens.

Ava Ray and Allie Stewart each picked up 282 points and 18 tens to finish second and third, respectively, out of 496 female archers in the elementary division. 

Jack Yeager (274), Arianna Scott (270) and Briana Willoughby (269) — the trio combined to corral 32 tens — also contributed counting scores in East Elementary’s championship showing.

“After state, we kind of shifted gears and started focusing on the 3D event,” coach Branch Whitlock said. “It’s something we’ve had success with in the past, and we thought it’d be our best chance at nationals. When we shot our 1,660, I thought we had it locked up. It wasn’t 100 percent, but I thought it was untouchable. Benton, our national rival, hadn’t shot yet, though. So we had to wait on them, and that was a little nerve-wracking.”

Vinemont Elementary, which placed 28th out of 67 squads, was paced by Kayden Henderson, who produced 269 points and 13 tens to snag 35th individually.

Cullman Middle, which came in sixth out of 108 schools, was paced by Jackson Miner, who tallied 281 points and 17 tens to finish 43rd out of 920 male archers in his division.

Ayden Thomason (280 points and 15 tens) led Vinemont Middle (24th) with a 56th-place effort.

West Point High, which was 96th out of 105 schools, was led by Matthew Dunagan, who snagged 280 points and 17 tens to secure a 115th-place finish (806 archers) individually.

East Elementary also fashioned a runners-up performance in the NASP Eastern National Bull’s-eye Tournament.

The school secured 3,260 points — second to only Kingston Elementary in Louisiana with 3,284 points.

Allie Stewart led the impressive charge with 283 points and 19 tens, which positioned her fourth out of 1,652 female archers in the elementary division.

Jack Yeager, Hayden Scott, Brianna Willoughby, Ava Ray, Evan Docker, Arianna Scott, Cole Burnham, Tyler Brock, Mack Dumas, Brinley Hurt and Cooper Loftin also made top-12 contributions.

“We did really, really well,” Whitlock said. “But it wasn’t enough to beat Kingston.”

Vinemont’s Kayden Henderson placed third out of 2,014 male archers in the elementary division after netting 288 points and 19 tens for the Eagles, who were 21st out of 171 teams.

Cullman’s Will Bolzle (285 points and 18 tens), Vinemont’s Jarrett Friedrich (284 and 16 tens), and West Point’s Carter Duke (276 points and 11 tens) were the top shooters for their respective squads, finishing 84th, 123rd and 384th individually out of 2,917 archers in the middle school division.

The Eagles were 28th out of 225 schools, while the Bearcats and Warriors were 33rd and 214th, respectively.

West Point’s Matthew Dunagan nabbed 122nd (288 points and 19 tens) out of 2,519 male archers in the high school division. The Warriors placed 98th out of 237 schools overall.

Good Hope, meanwhile, was paced by Mallory Hammock, who crafted 283 points and 14 tens to snare 211th out of 2,393 female archers in the high school division. The Raiders finished 157th as a team.

East Elementary’s Hayden Scott (282 points and 16 tens) and Arianna Scott (278 points and 16 tens) claimed second-place outings individually in the Centershot Ministries 3D Tournament, which took place before the IBO 3D Challenge.

Evan Dockery (fourth), Jack Yeager (seventh) and Cole Burnham (ninth) also picked up top-10 finishes as did Allie Scott (third), Ava Ray (fourth), Briana Willoughby (seventh) and Lillyann Powell (eighth).

Next up for local archers is the NASP World Tournament, which takes place in Louisville, Ky. on June 7-9.