By Megan Hecox
The Waldron Jr High and High School Archery Club is a grant-funded club through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. There are 100 students, grades 7-12, that participate in this program. Mrs.Kristin Atchley is over the High School students and Mrs.Tammy Chronister and Mrs.Toby Hollin are over the Jr High students. In the last 2 years, the Archery Club has competed in the State and Regional Tournaments. To receive a bid to State, you must first place in the top 3 teams at Regionals.
This year, the Waldron Archery Club has started competing early to prepare for Regionals. The High School Archers will have their first competition on January 26th in Bryant. They will compete in their Regional Competition on February 9th. The competition team is made up of their top 25 Archers.
During the last two years, the Sr High team has been led by Senior Dayten Manning. Mrs.Atchley said, “He is very competitive when it comes to Archery. We also have Senior Keaton Brown who helps our team out. I can’t say enough good things about them. They do whatever is necessary to help out our team.” When they aren’t working on perfecting their scores, Dayten and Keaton are taking the time to help others who have questions or need help.
Senior Whitney Richmond is a new addition to the Archery Club and has already been a tremendous help. “She takes time to learn and with her shooting experience, she is definitely going to be an asset to the team,” Says Mrs.Atchley. Junior Chase Hale, Sophomore Jesse Dees, and Freshman Gatlin Lovett have all been starting well with consistent shooting. These qualities are going to help during competitions.
The girls are being led by Freshman Trinity Combs and Maylee Ewing. “These girls are an asset to the Jr Arrow Dogs and I can’t wait to see what they can do. They have potential to possibly be state champion contenders in the future,” says Mrs.Atchley.
Other team members working exceptionally hard for the team are:
Junior: Evan Akins
Sophomore: Lincoln Hale, Bladyn Mays, Dylan Coley, Hayden Chronister, Madison Garzon, Alexis Lane, Tori Woodard, and Camryn Hamilton.
Freshmen: Dylan Brown, Clayton Crump, Sean Dixon, Kayden Metcalf, Matthew Tegtmeyer, Jayden McConnell, Vanessa Orozco, Lupita Morales, Ethan Coley, and Abbi Stark.
