Shooting Wire

COLUMBUS, OHIO - For the third year in a row, Maysville High School in Muskingum County earned first-place overall team honors, as well as numerous individual awards, at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament.

The tournament was held March 6 in Columbus in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival, spearheaded by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger addressed the crowd of archers and fans again during the awards ceremony.

"Congratulations to all the young athletes who participated in this year's tournament," said Kevin Dixon, shooting sports coordinator for the Division of Wildlife, which coordinates NASP in Ohio. "The Division of Wildlife is very proud to sponsor a program that teaches participants a life-long recreational skill and has helped improve their school participation and attendance."

The Meigs High School team, from Meigs County, won the Spirit Award, which recognized their enthusiasm and support of fellow archers in the tournament.

Jacob Riffle of Meigs High School and Kelsey Taylor of Morgan High School were the top overall male and female archers. They received full, two-year scholarships to HockingCollege in Nelsonville. The top male and female archer were determined by a shoot-off between the top three boys and top three girls from each of three divisions - elementary, middle, and high school.

More than 800 students from 34 teams participated in the state tournament. Each competitor could score a maximum of 300 points by shooting arrows as close to the center of a target as possible.

Awards were given for both teams and individuals who competed well in the elementary, middle, and high school divisions.

Twenty-six Ohio teams received qualifying scores, making them eligible to attend the NASP National Invitational Tournament, scheduled for May 8 and 9 in Kentucky.

NASP teaches target archery right in the school gym. The curriculum covers archery, safety, equipment, technique, concentration skills, and self-improvement. For more information on the program, visit www.ohionasp.com.