NEW MADISON — Only two years after its founding, the Tri-Village High School Archery Club will be traveling to Kentucky to compete in a world competition.
The National Archery in Schools Program will hold its World Tournament, June 7 to 9, at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Thousands of students will compete during the three-day event.
The Patriot Archery Club qualified for the NASP World Tournament with a total score of 3,190 points, exceeding the 3,150-point minimum threshold for entry. It’s the team’s first time competing at the world level.
Club members include Caleb Kirchner, Johnna Siegrist, Jacob Siegrist, Dylan Finkbine, Hailey Kirchner, Foster Brown, Ida Zeller, Nick Varvel, Savannah Gray, Stevie Wright, Trinity Patrick, Jadyn Patrick, Dylan Holsapple, Jacob Scantland and Meygan Dottillis. The team is coached by John Siegrist with assistant coaches Don Smith and Dick Holsapple. All volunteer their time.
Each school team can have 12 to 24 participants. There must be at least four boys and four girls on each team.
The archers shoot three rounds, or “ends,” of five arrows at 10 meters. Another three ends is shot from 15 meters. A perfect score for each end is 50 points, or 300 total possible points for each competitor.
The Patriots competed May 10 in the NASP National Tournament, also held in Louisville, the first time the team made it to nationals.
“One thing this team has done, every shoot, every tournament, they’re always improving their scores,” Coach Siegrist said. “We haven’t had one where we’ve gone backwards, which is awesome.”
Two archers — senior Caleb Kirchner and freshman Johnna Siegrist — finished sixth (boys) and seventh (girls), respectively, in individual competition at national.
“Caleb has just come in and done an awesome job in his first year,” Coach Siegrist said. “This is Johnna’s second year, and she made a determination she would get in the top 10 this year, and that’s exactly what she did.”
“The team as a whole just does an awesome job. This team really works good together; they compete well together. They have fun doing it, which is one of the important parts, making sure everyone is having fun and being safe,” he added.
Patriot elementary and middle school students are also getting involved, he said.
Tri-Village is currently the only Darke County school with an archery squad. Siegrist expressed hope other local schools will start up archery teams and said he would be happy to provide information for those interested.
The Tri-Village Archery Club is completely self-funded, covering its expenses via fundraisers and donations. For those seeking to help the team, contact Coach John Siegrist by phone at 937-459-0892 or Tri-Village Schools at 937-996-6261.
