FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015   ■   ARCHERY

Young Alabama Archer Takes Top Prize at National Tournament

Takes Aim at World Championship in July

Sixteen-year-old Miles Wilson shot a near perfect 298 of a possible 300 points to become the top scoring male at this year's National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) National Championship held on May 6-9 in Louisville, Ky. Wilson is a member of the Alma Bryant High School Hurricanes archery team based in Irvington, Ala. The Hurricanes placed seventh in the high school division during the competition.

"I was honestly surprised," Wilson said about his almost perfect score. "I focused on my form and everything else fell into place. The score wasn't on my mind at the time."

Wilson, who will be a senior this fall, has drawn his bow for the Hurricanes since he was in fourth grade, but it was an archery expo that attracted him to the sport when he was a third grader.

"Coach (Roy) Richardson brought archery to our area in 2004," Wilson said. "Students from the Alma Bryant archery team put on an expo at my elementary school (Breitling Elementary) in Grand Bay. I was hooked, immediately."

Wilson's dedication to archery has paid off. In addition to earning top honors at the 2015 NASP National Championship, he has won four state championship titles between 2010 and 2013 and was the top elementary shooter in the world in 2010. This year, Wilson was also chosen, for the second time, as a member of the National Guard All-Star Archery Team which competes in tournaments around the world. Wilson is the first Alabamian to be selected twice for the all-star team, once in 2013 and again this year.

Wilson's accomplishments are even more impressive when put into context. With 12,045 of the nation's best student archers from 763 schools in 42 states and Washington, D.C., the NASP national tournament is the largest of its kind in the world. During the championship, Wilson also placed fifth in the scholarship competition and took home a $2,500 college scholarship which can be used at the school of his choice.

Wilson and his fellow Hurricanes will attend the NASP World Championship in Nashville, July 23-25. He will draw his bow for the National Guard All-Star team in the same month. Wilson said he and his teammates have a lot to prove going into the competitions.

"I'm very driven and hope to maintain my title as top male in the nation," he said. "As the most winning team in the state (Alma Bryant) we look forward to competing against the best teams from around the world."

Alma Bryant archery coach Roy Richardson, who is also Wilson's stepfather, said their program is thriving due to the dedication and enthusiasm of student archers like Wilson. Each summer the school holds archery camps for students in grades three through eight, most of whom have never drawn a bow. Several members of the high school archery team volunteer as student instructors at the camps.

"Watching my older kids teach the younger ones is a highlight of the program," Richardson said. "As the older students pass on their archery knowledge, they also learn how to be mentors. They are teaching themselves through teaching archery."

Wilson agrees.

"Volunteering at the archery camps helps you learn something about your own shooting you might have missed," he said. "It's very satisfying to help the younger archers grow on their journey."

The dedication and enthusiasm invested in the Alma Bryant archery program by people like Roy Richardson, Miles Wilson and countless other student archers and parents is manifesting through the next generation of young archers at the school.

"Age is not a factor in how well you shoot," Richardson said. "This year Carson English, a fourth grader at Grand Bay Middle School, traveled with us to nationals and was allowed to shoot with our high school team in the competition. He shot 279 out of 300, an impressive score when competing against the best in the country."

To learn more about NASP in Alabama, visithttp://www.outdooralabama.com/archery-schools-program.

NASP was founded in Kentucky in 2002 and has since spread around the country. NASP in Alabama is a joint venture between the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division and the Alabama Department of Education.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama's natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visi www.outdooralabama.com.