Hornets notch eighth place finish at archery Nationals

Head coach Scott Christenson spoke to a full house May 11, during a send-off for the Cadott archery program, before they headed to National competition in Lousiville, Ky. Christenson said to be successful in archery, the athletes have to have dedication and commitment. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

Head coach Scott Christenson spoke to a full house May 11, during a send-off for the Cadott archery program, before they headed to National competition in Lousiville, Ky. Christenson said to be successful in archery, the athletes have to have dedication and commitment.

Students lined the halls to wish their fellow classmates good luck at National competition, exchanging high-fives and even hugs.

Making the send-off pep rally a fun affair, the senior archers chose an educator to shoot against them in a game of tic-tac-toe, but needed to hit the target with the opposite shooting hand than they’re familiar with. After some mishaps and many misses, those who came out on top, like Dalan Hartmann (right), celebrated Rocky style, and with a bag of M& M’s.

Archery is not for the faint of heart, with a season stretching from the end of November through the middle of May, and practice times of 6:30 a.m., four days a week, before the normal school day begins. Despite that, each year, Cadott’s archery program sees large numbers and takes multiple shooters to the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) National tournament.

“These guys are definitely dedicated, but I also think that’s why they’re successful,” said coach Scott Christenson. “You actually have to make the effort to get out of bed and make yourself better.”

This season, out of 60 Hornets archers, 30 went on to compete at the NASP Nationals, held May 12-15, in Louisville, Ky. That was after the high school team went undefeated in tournament action throughout the year, and notched their 12th State title, while the junior high progressed nicely over the season, taking third at State.

“Quite an accomplishment,” said Christenson. “You have to realize, there’s some pretty stiff competition.”

Along with the dedication and commitment that it takes to be a successful archer, many of the athletes came into the season shooting in their first “live” competitions, since COVID-19 put in-person events on hiatus the last couple years. However, even with nerves at the forefront, in their first tournament of the year, the Hornets shot one of their best rounds ever.

“I knew right at the beginning, this team was going to be pretty special,” said Christenson, adding this could be the best team he’s ever coached. “Some of our kids have never been to a tournament.”

Because the Cadott archers are usually among the top shooters in the nation, the Hornets had lofty goals for the National competition, looking to beat their school record of 3,422 points. After the weekend of shooting, the Hornets fell just shy of the goal for a National title, coming home with an eighth-place finish and a score of 3,404 for the high school division.

“We were just 14 points shy of the podium,” said Christenson.

The middle school team placed 30th out of 205 teams, with a score of 3,255.

Making a mark for the Hornets, was senior Tad Weiss, who shot a 289, for 92nd in the high school boys rank out of 2,138 and 33rd out of 422 senior archers, while Adam Evanson shot a 286 personal best (PB), ending 28th out of sophomores.

Owen Fasbender recorded 286 (PB) in 14th for seventh-grade boys out of 791 and Anthony Glenz had 284 (PB) to finish in 36th out of 872 eighth-grade boys.

Also placing near the top of the pack, was LaRhea Christenson, for 35th out of 508 junior girls, with a score of 284. Brooklyn Hrdlicka shot for 30th out of 616 freshmen girls for a PB score of 283.

Completing their high school archery careers, were seniors Kamryn Poehsl (279 for 80th), Kaleb Sonnentag (275 for 148th) and Ethan Foldy (268 for 233rd).

“Overall, I am proud of our teams,” said Christenson.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="494"] Students lined the halls to wish their fellow classmates good luck at National competition, exchanging high-fives and even hugs. Photo by Ginna Young[/caption]   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="368"] Making the send-off pep rally a fun affair, the senior archers chose an educator to shoot against them in a game of tic-tac-toe, but needed to hit the target with the opposite shooting hand than they’re familiar with. After some mishaps and many misses, those who came out on top, like Dalan Hartmann (right), celebrated Rocky style, and with a bag of M&M’s. Photo by Ginna Young[/caption]