LOUISVILLE – The two top elementary school archery programs in Kentucky collided again in late march at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) in the Kentucky State Tournament at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
For the second straight season it was Cedar Grove and Shepherdsville battling it out for the top spot in the ‘bullseye’ competition. A year ago, Shepherdsville won both titles (bullseye and 3-D) with Cedar Grove second.
This year, the programs changed positions as Cedar Grove swept both titles. In bullseye, it was all Cedar Grove in 2024 as the program posted a winning score of 3,160 (3,600 is a perfect score). Shepherdsville was the only other school to surpass 3,100, hitting that number on the nose to finish second.
The third-place team, with a score of 3,098, was Southside Elementary from Cynthiana while the fourth-place team with a score of 3,091 while Flaherty, a school in Meade County that often competes in tournaments put on by Bullitt County schools.
There were 107 schools that took part in the elementary school division, including seven from Bullitt County.
Individually, the top Bullitt County shooter in the field was 5th-grader Emersen Wilson of Cedar Grove who finished fourth with a score of 282 (300 is a perfect score). The winner among the 2,200 younger shooters was Zane Iery of Gresbauch Elementary with a score of 286.
Another Cedar Grove 5th-grader, Mason Odle, finished 12th overall with a score of 276. The reason for Cedar Grove running away with the team title was that they also got top-20 finishes from 5th graders Waylon Loggie and Karma Zwanzig, who each posted a score of 274.
Cedar Grove and Shepherdsville will get to battle in another ‘major’ tournament when they compete in the NASP Eastern Nationals which will be back at the Kentucky Exposition Center May 9-11.
(Remember, in bullseye, each school can have as many as 24 shooters with the top 12 scores being used to form the ‘team’ score. A perfect team score is 3,600.)
Cedar Grove
Score – 3,160
Place – First
With four of the top 20 scores out of a huge field of 2,200 shooters it is easy to see why Cedar Grove won by such a large margin. The team had the 282 from Emersen Wilson along with Mason Odle having a 276 and the two 274 scores from Waylon Loggie and Karma Zwanzig.
Also shooting for Cedar Grove was 4th-grader Carly Rountree with a 266 while 5th-grader Levi Duke finished with a 260. Cedar Grove also got 257 scores from 5th-grader Isabella Berdovich and 4th-grader Katherin Lancaster. Three shooters from the school posted 254 scores including 4th-graders Addison Milligan and Henry Jones along with 5th-grader Meera Patel. The final score used for the ‘team’ total was a 253 by 4th-grader Ainsley Deerr.
Also shooting for Cedar Grove in this major event was Trace Bleemel with a 251, Jessica Clark with a 250, Hunter Carrier with a 249while Wyatt Bourque had a 248, Robert Finn a 241 and Easton Isabel a 239. The other Cedar Grove scores were a 237 by Jazmine Paragon, a 231 by Aubrey Hunt, a 226 from Hunter Watson, a 221 from Parker Hurst, a 217 by Declan Egbert and a 204 by William Pottinger.
Shepherdsville
Score – 3,100
Place -- Second
Shepherdsville just could not compete with Cedar Grove at the top of the scoring table but they had enough balance and consistency to finish as Kentucky’s number two team.
Leading the way for this team was 5th-grader Jayden Richardson with a 267 while 5th-grader Makayla Hargrove had a 266. A pair of 4th-graders, Kaden McKendree and Carter Dowell each had a 265 while a 264 was posted by Zai Barker, a 4th-grader. Another 4th-grader, Addison Moncardo, had a 263 while 5th-graders Lillian Humphrey and Hunter Tindall both had a 259 score.
Rounding out the scoring for Shepherdsville was Arlington Cundiff, a 5th-grader, with a 250 while 5th-grader Lucas Metcalf had a 248. The team got a trio of 247 scores from 4th-grader Myra Howard and 5th-graders Dalton Berry and Khloe Taylor. The NASP tie-breaker used the scores from Howard and Berry.
Also shooting for Shepherdsville was Liam Elble with a 244 while Easton Noe had a 243, Annalena Turner a 240, Luke Criss with a 239 and Willow Aucoin a 238. The team also had a 234 score by Serenity Webb and a231 scores from Alanna Dimitri and Brantley Solus. Also shooting was Cira Cutsinger with a 226 and Knox Schofield with a 176.
Pleasant Grove
Score – 2,916
Place – 25th
It was a strong showing for Pleasant Grove as they had a top-25 finish in the big field.
Leading the way for Pleasant Grove was a 259 by 4th-grader Kamber Brown. The team also got a 253 from 5th-grader Serenity Price along with a 251 by 5th-grader Matthew Rupe and a 250 by Nolan White, a 5th-grader.
In addition, Pleasant Grove had a 247 by Isaac Hammond along with a 244 by Tate Haycraft, a pair of 5th-graders. Adding to the team score was Eli Hammond, a 5th-grader with a 242 score while 5th-grader Molly Barger had a 241. Another 5th-grader Scott Tuner had a 238 while 4th-grader Piper Baird had a 237, 5th-grader Kyle Underwood a 236 and 5th-grader Wyatt Hoormann a 218.
Also shooting for Pleasant Grove was Luke Laux with a 211, Liam Middleton with a 210, Maddox Hayes with a 207 and Brynlee Vertress with a 204 and Braxton Draper with a 203. The team also had a 198 by Alaina Garr, a pair of 197 scores from Alexis Lyons and Raylan Hall while Ava Brady had a 187, Owen Whitenack a 185, Ryan Wells with a 178 and Aubrey Williams with a 105.
Old Mill
Score – 2,747
Place – 61st
The top score for Old Mill came from 5th-grader Waylon Phillips with a 264 tally. The team also got a 254 from 5th-grader Harper St. John along with a 251 by 5th-grader Josh Leadford. Adding to the team score for Old Mill was Evan Bottger, a 4th-grader, with a 245 while a 237 was shot by 5th-grader Caroline Richardson.
In addition, Old Mill had a 233 by 5th-grader Gabe Polson and a 222 by 5th-gbrader Luke Nash. Another team score was a 215 by Lynnea LaFave, a 5th-grader while 5th-grader Logan Brown had a 209, the same score as 4th-grader Emaree Guilford. Rounding out the team score for Old Mill were 204 scores from 5th-graders Hudson Watson and Tyler Grass.
Also shooting for Old Mill was Lauren Gutman with a 200, Rae3lynSims with a 197, Hadley Boone with a 192, London Gray with a 190 and Reagan Butler with a 187. The scores also included a 186 by Riley Cain, a 181 by Chloe Fenwick, a 180 by Gracey Miles, a 169 by Rhett Battcher along with a 164 by Violet Thompson, a 153 by Dominic George and a 113 by Hudson Burress.
Lebanon Junction
Score – 2,711
Place – 66th
The top score for Lebanon Junction in the state meet was a 242 by 5th-gbrader Nevaeh Vittitoe. The team also got a 241 by 5th-grader Chrissy Nalley and a 237 by 5th-grader Keyda Werkmeister. Ava Ridings, a 5th-grader had a 233 while 5th-grader Brendyn Durbin had a 231.
Lebanon Junction also had a 225 by 4th-grader Cayden Harper while 5th-grader Brynlee Chesser had a 222 and 5th-grader Aurelia Reedy a 220. Rounding out the team scores were 217 totals by 5th-grader Ally Moore and 4th-grader James Moriarity while fifth-graders Linsey Dunn and Michael Tinnell each finished with a 213.
Also shooting for Lebanon Junction was Kynsley Vineyard with a 210, Wesley Brown with a 206, Alayna Root with a 204, Hudson McEntire with a 203 and Justice Kendall with a 202. Rounding out the team that day was Elijah Smallwood with a 189, Elliott Willis with a 188, Paisley Metcalf with a 184, Kinsley Ratcliff at 176, Royal Wilkins with a 15, Nina Bahmina with a 123 and Makenna Bowman with a 103.
Overdale
Score – 2,645
Place – 75th
Leading the scoring for Overdale was 5th-grader Emy Rigney with a 248 while the team also got a 237 from 4th-grader Ryder Wimsatt and a 235 by 5th-grader Analeigh Adkins.
Also adding to the team score was 4th-grader Grayson Sego with a 231 while Brihanna Smith, a 5th-grader had a 230. The team had a 216 by 4th-grader Addilynn Hibbard and a 215 by 4th-grader David Sherrard. Sophia Brooks-Geary, a 5th-grader, had a 214 while 4th-grader Bentley Luttrell had a 213, Grant Olges, a 5th-grader, a 212, 4th-grader Jordan Ray a 203 and 5th-grader Chelsea Meyer a 191.
Also shooting for Overdale in the state meet was Bentley Caulk with a 190 while Brayden Alvey had a 183 and Hope Estes a 180. The others shooting for the team included Lily Sauer with a 174, Ramelo Massey with a 172, Madison Cummins with a 170, Liam Bryson with a 168, Jaxon Meadors with a 163, Austin Farmer with a 152 and Savannah Vaughn with a 146.
Mt. Washington
Score – 2,545
Place – 94th
The top shooter for Mt. Washington in this meet was 5th-grader Brayden Cox with a 232 while 4th-graders Brayden Harris, Wyatt Gast and Amelia Vincent each finished with a 229.
Also scoring points for the team was 5th-grader Dahila McDonald with a 223 while 5th-grader Carter Atkinson had a 213 while 4th-grader Kylee Schaftlein had a 212. Mt. Washington also got a 202 from 5th-grader Zander Hall while 5th-grader Nate Bleemel had a 202. The final team scores came from 5th-graders Mason Abell with a 199 while Raegan Gibson had a 190 and Seth Woods a 180.
Also shooting for Mt. Washington in the state championships was Andrew Paris with a 169, Violet Yager with a 168, Morgan Gast with a 156 and Raylan Himes with a 148.