Kentucky’s NASP state tournament, hosted March 15-16, 2019, at the Kentucky Exposition Center, featured a record 7,039 student archers representing 450-plus schools, making it the largest NASP state tournament in the nation.
“NASP promotes student achievement and strives to improve educational performance by using archery to teach focus, self-control, discipline and patience,” said Lisa Frye, state NASP coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “The state tournament features the best student archers in Kentucky, and there were more of them this year than ever before. It warms my heart to see their smiles, their dedication and talent.”
Elementary, middle and high school student archers competed for individual and team honors. The top 10 seniors in the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the Kentucky NASP state tournament received $1,000 scholarships to use toward any post-secondary education.
Madison Central High School successfully defended its overall team title, edging Bullitt Central High School and Lincoln County High School. Payneville Elementary and Gray Middle School won their respective divisions.
After practice rounds, each competitor shot 15 arrows at bull’s-eye targets from 10 meters, then 15 more arrows from 15 meters. Each target has 10 scoring rings, and the bull’s-eye is worth 10 points. The highest possible score is 300 points.
On the boys’ side, Casey County High School junior Justin Luttrell (right) earned the overall title in the Kentucky NASP state tournament with a score of 298. Madison Middle School eighth grader Mayci Roach was the top girls’ middle school performer and earned the girls’ overall title with a score of 296. Roach also earned the girls’ middle school title in the NASP/International Bowhunting (IBO) 3-D challenge with a score of 288. Bullitt Central High School senior Christa Nelson earned the NASP/IBO 3D challenge girls’ overall title with a score of 295.
The 3-D challenge differs from the traditional bull’s-eye state tournament in that archers shoot at six lifelike 3-D foam targets depicting various game animals. The 3-D targets are set in a diagonal line from 10 to 15 meters and the scoring rings are the same size and shape of the rings on standard NASP bull’s-eye targets.
Bullitt Central High School won the overall title in the NASP/IBO 3-D Challenge. Caudill Middle School and Payneville Elementary won their respective divisions in the 3-D challenge.
The boys’ division of the NASP/IBO 3-D challenge came down to a tiebreaker between Anderson County High School sophomore Henry Thompson and Hopkins County Central High School senior T Sanchez (photo below). They tied for first place with scores of 297. Thompson won the tiebreaker and the boys’ division overall title.
The next step for many of the archers who competed in the state tournament is the 2019 NASP Eastern Nationals scheduled May 9-11, 2019, at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
For more information on the National Archery in Schools Program, visit www.naspschools.org.
