The Menchville Archery Team participated in the NASP State Tournament in Doswell, Virginia on Saturday, March 10^th. While Menchville did not improve their overall score from last year, they shot well and scored only 1 less than last year’s score, ranking 5^th in their division. “Everyone had an off day. I think everyone could have done better, but what’s important is that we all tried our best,” Sophomore Brittany Steele commented.Menchville’s highest-scoring archer at States was Senior Sheridan Paranuk with a score of 282 out of possible 300 and sixteen 10s hitting the center of the target. Paranuk has improved greatly since last year’s state competition, where she shot a 267. After the tournament on March 10^th, she was ranked 13 out of 92 in the high school girls division, 2 out of 13 in the 12th-grade girls’ division, and 21 out of 268 in the overall girls’ division.

Senior Alan McGuire earned the top boys score on the Menchville Archery Team with a score of 281 and sixteen 10s. McGuire improved his score from last year by 10 points and is currently ranked 17 out of 107 in the high school boys division, 2 out of 18 in the 12th-grade boys’ division, and 32 out of 317 in the overall boys’ division. McGuire is also an Academic Archer, a title in the NASP Organization that recognizes academic excellence.

Menchville’s Archery Team shot a total score of 3266 in the State Tournament. Even though their score from last year’s competition did not improve, this score still qualified the team to shoot in the 2018 NASP National Archery Tournament. In May, the team will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to compete against over one hundred other teams across the nation.

The team will need to maintain a strict practice schedule in order to prepare for the tournament. Under the instructions of Coach Cerny, the team will practice three days a week and at home, if possible. “We have to keep our heads high during practice, keep a positive attitude at all times and that will improve our scores. We should also talk to Coach Cerny or others and ask them what we may possibly need to work on,” Sophomore David Lembersky said. The team will not only work on improving their scores, but they will need to work better as a team. “We need to work on getting closer,” Sophomore Ethan Matthews said. “It feels like we’re on 2 or 3 separate teams.” The team now has about a month and a half to prepare before they give it their all at the tournament on May 10^th-12^th.

Archer Scores:

Sheridan Paranuk – 282

Alan McGuire – 281

Tyrek Lee – 279

Courtney Hodge – 278

Chris Kessel – 277

Felix Arsenault – 274

Kynlee Johnson – 273

Juliana Cerny – 273

Hannah Hollis – 267

Curtis Merkel – 262

Mohummed Taha – 261

Elisa Konop – 259

Chris Von Schmidt-Pauli – 258

Andrew Marcum – 256

Ethan Matthews – 254

Andrew Ross – 250

Ethan Pittman – 249

Ben Beal – 247

Beth Ellis – 240

Hailee Ward – 232

Noah Reynolds – 224

David Lembersky – 223

Ashley Johnson – 218

Brittany Steele – 134