The Hays/Lodge Pole Archery team was in Great Falls recently in preparation for the State Archery tournament later this month in Helena. Competing at Paris Gibson High School were 39 boys and 28 girls representing teams from Paris Gibson, Great Falls High (ROTC), Heart Butte, and Hays-Lodge Pole.

Paris Gibson is an Alternative High School in Great Falls with an enrollment of about 250. This tournament was a great tool for the Thunderbirds to use as they prepare for the State Tournament. Shailie Shambo was on her mark all day long and finished second in the girls' division with a score of 256. Shambo's effort was not just good enough for a high placing, but also established a new school record in the process. Byron Werk also turned in a top tier performance and finished third among the boys with a 251.

Other Thunderbirds with strong efforts included Teaunce Brockie with a 7th place finish and Daniel Henry coming in tenth for the Thunderbirds. Head Coach, Rod Benson commented on his boys teams performance, "Teaunce's performance was one of the highlights. He made the team as an alternate, but his score (242) vaulted him to the #2 spot on our boys top ten list right behind Bryon Werk who has held the #1 spot all season."

Current standings for the Hays/Lodge Pole Boys are: Byron Werk 251, Teaunce Brockie 242, Will Hughes 241, Daniel Henry 237, Brad Snell 237, Avery Boe 231, Kaleb Walker 228, Axel Swan 225, James Sullivan 223, Will Has the Eagle 217. The top 10 will make up the team that competes in Helena.

The Hays/Lodge Pole girls team was stellar placing four in the top 10. In addition to Shambo's second place effort other top ten finishers included Jayla Haakanson (7th), Shaunte Hawley (8th), and Rylee Martin (10th). Coach Benson commented, "Shailee was her normal 'awesome', but the other three scored much higher than their previous personal bests."

Current standings for the Hays/Lodge Pole Girls are: Shailee Shambo 256, Jayla Haakanson 242, Shaunte Hawley 242, Rylee Martin 238, Monique Gray 235, Haley Cichosz 231, Alliya Pretty Paint 220, Imagin Fox 215, Chaynell McConnell 210 and Jo Jo Russell 210.

The final team standing in Great Falls went as follows: Paris Gibson was first (2971), followed by HLP with 2820. Benson added "Ryan Schmalz, the state coordinator (FWP education specialist) said this was the first ever fully official NASP (high school) tournament in the state."

The Thunderbirds will keep practicing in preparation their biggest test yet, "Our next NASP event will be the State Meet at the fairgrounds in Helena on Tuesday, March 28th. We will be taking our top ten high school boys and girls, and top three junior high boys and girls. Students will have one more opportunity to make the state team by shooting for a score during the week of March 13th."

Benson went on to say, "Rankings will be determined by each student's best score of the season, including our intramural tournament, the Great Falls tournament, and the opportunity next week. The nice thing about coaching archery is that there's no debate about who makes the team or who gets to play the most. You just look at the scores. I think having a state meet is going to be giant leap for archery in Montana. Hopefully, other rural schools will start programs. Wouldn't it be great to, one day in the future, have a Blaine County tournament with Harlem, Chinook, Turner, and Hays/Lodge Pole students competing for bragging rights?"