By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – The Blue Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds was filled with arrows flying through the air last Saturday.
It was part of the 2024 Indiana NASP State Tournament, which took place over the weekend at the pavilion. A total of 2,100 students in grades 4 through 12 representing 125 different schools participated in the event.
NASP stands for National Archery in School Program and is administered through the DNR Law Enforcement Division in Indiana. Tim Beck, an Indiana Conservation Officer, is the state coordinator of the tournament and spoke to the Reporter during the tournament.
“It’s really been amazing,” said Beck. “The impact that this program has had on the students. It’s a very unique program that engages just about all the kids in any shape or fashion. The impact and the growth of this program has been nothing short of phenomenal.”
Beck emphasized that archery is a sport truly for everyone. He said there have been students competing who have physical disabilities, as well as some who may have emotional issues.
“We have actually had some students that may have some behavioral problems where archery has been instrumental in helping them deal with some of their social and emotional issues,” said Beck. “It’s really unique how archery has made a difference in their lives.”
Beck said the NASP motto is that the organization is “changing lives one arrow at a time,” he said. “So, the impact on our students is phenomenal.”
Beck was talking while young archers were competing in the Bullseye part of the tournament. Each competitor shot 30 arrows – shooting 15 from a 10-meter line, then moving back and shooting 15 more arrows from a 15-meter line.
“Each arrow has a point value of 10 points,” said Beck. A perfect hit on the bullseye is worth the full 10 points, with the point values decreasing the further away an arrow lands. A perfect score is 300 points.
There were three divisions at the tournament: elementary, middle and high school. Batesville swept the team standings in all three divisions.
In the individual standings, Caleb Gedney of Christian Academy of Indiana won the boys high school division, while Lydia Haskamp of Batesville was the girls high school winner. Both scored 293 points.
Batesville’s Varshath Rajesh won the boys middle school division by scoring 288 points. North Harrison’s Hazel Robertson was the girls winner, totaling 285 points. Another North Harrison archer, Eli First, won the boys elementary competition with 279 points. Blake Humm from St. Benedict Cathedral School in Evansville won the girls elementary division with 276 points.
In addition to the Bullseye competition, there was also a 3-D competition. Beck said the 3-D is “based off of outdoor hunting scenarios,” also saying it has been “very, very popular.”
Evansville Reitz Memorial won the high school 3-D competition, with North Harrison winning the middle school division and Triton Central the elementary school division.
In the individual standings, the high school boys winner was Jason Tillison of Scottsburg with a score of 293 points. Isabella Hughes of Whitko won the high school girls division, scoring 289 points.
St. Benedict Cathedral School had both middle school 3-D winners: Karagan Day scored 282 points to finish first in the girls competition, while the boys winner was Townes Wooton, who totaled 279 points.
In the elementary division, First of North Harrison scored 279 points for top honors among the boys. Courtney Miller of Churubusco Elementary totaled 274 points to win the girls event.
Beck said that all of the students at the tournament earned their place at the competition.
“They got an invitation to be here by shooting a qualifier earlier in the year,” said Beck. “Every one of these students got invited to attend. And at the end of the day, when they’re done, they’re going to get a medallion that will always be with them, that they competed and they qualified for this tournament.”
The NASP is education-based. Beck said any schools that participate must have archery as part of their school curriculum.
“It’s in their normal school day. It just can’t be an afterschool club,” said Beck. “Most of the schools do have a very good afterschool club, because that’s where they get their practice and everything for the tournament, but they do have to have the in-school component.”
For more information on the NASP, visit naspschools.org. Tournament results are available at nasptournaments.org.