Saint Pat’s Archers take aim at Nationals

On April 5^th, there was a gathering of competitive archers gathered in the gymnasium of Saint Patrick’s School, in Sparta. It was an awards night, held to honor the bowmen and bowwomen, formed from 37 members of their student body. Three team trophies stood tall on the awards table, each with many individual medals fanning their base, for the archers who procured the points necessary, to obtain the shiny tower. A bronzed-eagle trophy was also on that table, an honor given to the team, for sportsmanship in and during competition. The archery team is completely self-funded.

The students shoot with two different organizations. One is NASP – National Archery in Schools Program, which is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among students in grades 4 through 12. The other is Centershot, based out of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Working as a nonprofit, Centershot is a non-denominational outreach program that combines the life skills of archery with a Christ-centered connection. The difference between the two, is that Centershot is operated through the churches, while NASP is managed through the schools. “They both follow all the same rules,” says Luke Schwarz, coach for the Saint Pat’s Archers. “Same age of kids, same rules, same everything [with Centershot] it’s just that you can be in a church instead of a school. When we go to nationals [in Kentucky], we will actually shoot in both.”

When the young archers shoot in competition, they shoot at both a target with circular rings and 3D targets of animals. The individuals whose top skill efforts captured awards, were recognized at the awards night, and handed their trophies. The archers were as follows:

Elementary Division 

Female Bullseye 4^th Place - Meisha Hostetler

Female 3D 2^nd Place - Meisha Hostetler

Female 3D 4th Place - Shelby Schwarz

Female 3D 5^th Place - Hera Kim

Boy      3D 3^rd Place - Brier Leis

Middle Division 

Boy 3D 5^th Place - Kai Jacobson

The team awards as follows:

Elementary Division 3D - 1^st Place

Elementary Division Bullseye - 4^th Place

Middle Division 3D - 2^nd Place

Middle Division Bullseye - 3^rd Place

Assisting Coach Schwarz, who is in his first year at the position, are Travis Bores and Jacob Hostetler. For both, it is their first year in the program. “The things they learned in one year is unbelievable,” exclaimed Schwarz. “They did an amazing job. Nobody would believe that they are first-year coaches. You can’t have 37 kids and one good coach and expect to do well. The team’s success depended on their quick learning and implementing.”

On the number of hours that the team puts in, Coach Schwarz says, “We practice four days a week, for about 2 hours a night,” Schwarz informed the Herald. “We line up all the targets and put two shooters per target. We have had as many as 30 student archers in here, at one time. They are the same targets that they will shoot at in competition.”

At the state tournament, there were 1,328 young archers vying for top honors, as well as the honor of boosting their team’s score, for top recognition. On the tabled trophies that sat as a centerpiece for the awards night, Schwarz was happy to explain how the team had won them. “We too first place in Elementary 3D, we took second place in Middle School 3D – where we lost out on first by a single point, and we got third place in Middle School Bullseye. We took fourth place in Elementary Bullseye, but that was enough to keep us off the podium.”

Coach Schwarz then picked up a bronzed eagle trophy, and he produced a large smile. “Probably the most important award we received was this one, which was for sportsmanship,” Schwarz said. “This was the first year that the state issued such an award. They gave one out for Fridays competition and one for Saturdays competition. We were the winners of the Friday night award. Nothing makes me happier, as a coach, than to see my archers helping not only their teammates, but other competitors as well.”

    Not lost in the moment, on any of the archers, or their parents and coaches, was the fact that they are headed to Nationals, in Louisville, Kentucky, on the 14th and 15th of May. The Indoor World Championships for Centershot are being held on May 10^th-12^th in Louisville, Kentucky. And will be held at the West wing of the Kentucky Expo Center. The maximum amount of shooters that will be allowed in are 2,880. The Saint Patrick’s group will try shoot the Centershot competition, on May 12th, as a warmup for their Nationals shoot, but registration has not yet opened.

While the team is not actively seeking donations, they would turn them down. The entry fee for each archer is $140. In the past, Coach Schwarz says that the Knights of Columbus have stepped up to help, and it was greatly appreciated. Because the school does not have the funds for the tournament, it will fall on the parents, if the donations are not enough. All donations would go through the school. The archery team is completely self-funded.

The archers for Saint Pat’s include the following bowwomen and bowmen: Coaches Luke Schwarz, Travis Bores and Jacob Hostetler. Archers Noah DuCharme, Jackson Schwarz, Amaya Nastor-Middleman, Hera Kim, Meisha Hostetler, Theresa Tehoke, Remington Henry, Aubree Farra, Ellee Miller, Brigid Tehoke, Maddie Thurston, Shelby Schwarz, Mady Schwarz, Aiden Schumacher, Camryn Schwarz, Gavin Corsi, Paul Fitzpatrick, Lawrence Hostetler, Kai Jacobson, Trygve Schanhofer, Olivia Bores, Jocelyn Jacobson, Isabella Tomsavic, Teddi Nastor- Whitney, Maire Tehoke, Devin Leis, Parker Benish, and Matthew Bores.