Hays/Lodge Pole Archery Team 2nd at First Ever State Tournament

 

April 12, 2023

The Hays/Lodge Pole Archery program just wrapped up its second season under the direction of Rod Benson. The program has come a long way since it first started, and that growth has been highly rewarding. After beginning in a makeshift confined space in year one with just enough room to cover the bases, the program has evolved into an award winning team with its own secure space to practice. Archery has grown in many high schools across the state over the course of the past two years and the Thunderbirds have been at the forefront of that development.

In year one the team held an in school competition for its high school students and awarded the top 10 boys' and girls' finishers with a trip to compete in a sanctioned event. This year the program expanded to include junior high students; who competed in the state of Montana's first ever sanctioned high school tournament in Great Falls and just recently Montana's first-ever NASP State Archery tournament in Helena on Tuesday, March 28th. At the State meet in Helena a total of 184 students participated, including 72 high-schoolers, 89 middle-schoolers, and 23 elementary students. In all, twelve schools were on hand for the competition in addition to Hays/Lodge Pole.


The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbird Archery team took 10 high school boys, 10 high school girls, 3 junior high boys, and 4 junior high girls to compete in Helena.

The team turned in several outstanding performances led by the sharpshooting of Byron Werk with a new school record score of 264 that also earned a 2nd place finish overall. James Sullivan finished fourth for the high school boys while Will Hughes Jr. was fifth overall. In the high school girl's tournament Jayla Haakanson finished fourth. The Thunderbirds claimed three of the top five spots in the high school boys' division that included 39 archers.


Benson stated afterwords, "Byron's 264 earned him a silver medal, the first-ever for the Thunderbirds. He's been our hardest worker, taking advantage of several optional evening practices. It shows in his consistency and steady improvement throughout the season. Hopefully, there will be many more medals for HLP archers in the years to come. James (255), Will (254), and Jayla (252, 4th out of 33) all had outstanding tournaments as well, helping the Thunderbirds give Paris Gibson High School some stiff competition for the team trophy.


In addition, several Thunderbirds shot very well including seniors Daniel Henry (9th - 246) and Shaunte Hawley (238 - 8th) as well as junior Amy Cochran (229 - 9th).

In determining overall team winners each must have met the requirement for number of qualified shooters entered in the field.

Three high schools had enough participants to compete for the team trophy. To be eligible each school must have at least 12 archers, four girls and four boys among those 12. Team scores are determined by adding each schools top four girls' scores, top four boys' scores, and the next four best scores.

When the final results were posted Paris Gibson High School with an enrollment of 260, took top honors with a score of 2,944, the Thunderbirds with an enrollment of 80 was right on their heels with a score of 2,913. Benson stated, "Paris Gibson was the favorite to win the high school team title, but it was much closer than expected. A month ago, in Great Falls they beat us 2971 to 2820, a margin of 151. This time around the difference was just 31 points. That means their top 12 archers averaged 245, whereas ours averaged 243. It would have been fun to win the first-ever championship, but hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future."

When talking about his younger archers Benson was pleased with their effort despite their numbers, "We did not take enough archers to compete for the middle school team trophy, but our small group of 8th-graders did really well. Ethan Jones finished ninth out of 51 middle school boys with a score of 244. Alissa Whitford and Amara Speakthunder placed in the top 10 as well. Alissa's score (235) placed her fifth out of 33 middle school girls, and Amara placed ninth with a score of 219. Ethan and Alissa also established new school records for HLP junior high boys and girls, raising the bar for future Thunderbirds. With Ethan, Alissa, and Amara, along with their classmates Diana Old Elk, Starlit Blackcrow, Taeson Doney, and Calvin Tumulak, the future of archery HLP High School looks very promising."

What Benson has accomplished in bringing the Archery program to life is remarkable and something he is truly grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of, "Starting the archery program at HLP has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences of my 41-year teaching career." Benson however has had to make the tough decision to move on, "It's time for me to go home to Helena. I will be re-retiring at the end of this school year. The plan is for Carl Doney to take over the program next fall. Carl is well liked and respected among the students and staff, so I expect that the program will continue to thrive. Plus, there's been great support from the board, the community, the staff, the custodians, and the administration. I think everyone recognizes the value of the archery program, especially the positive impact that it's had on our young people who aren't into the traditional school sports. It gives them a chance to represent their community and make a stronger connection with their school.

Benson hopes other local high schools will add archery to their list of programs offered and refers everyone to an opportunity to get it started with a link from Ryan Schmaltz with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks as the first step in getting a program started, https://naspbai.org/ClassSearch.aspx?country=US&state=MT

 
 

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