The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission honored Louisiana archers who earned titles in this year’s National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) World and National tournaments during Thursday’s monthly commission meeting in Baton Rouge.
The students are part of the Archery in Louisiana Schools Program (ALAS) administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). ALAS is part of NASP, which teaches international target archery to students in grades 4-12.
Benton Middle School was recognized for winning the NASP world and national championships as well as the 3-D world title. Benton Middle successfully defended its world championship.
Benton Elementary won the 3-D national championship and finished second in 3-D at the world tournament. Kingston Elementary was third in 3-D in the world tournament.
Madeline Lowry of Benton Elementary placed second in the elementary 3-D national tournament and Eden Old of Benton Elementary was third.
Emma Bunch of Benton Middle captured the world title in the 3-D middle school division and Kaitlyn Misenheimer was third. Aiden Haire of Benton Middle was third in the 3-D middle school division. And Kennedy Halsell of Kingston Elementary was fourth in the 3-D elementary division.
Louisiana, which sent 14 schools to the national championships, was one of 41 states and the District of Columbia to compete in the national championships. A total of 12,897 students competed in the national tournament, including 198 from Louisiana.
Three countries and 27 states participated in the world tournament, which included 4,135 competitors. Louisiana was represented by six schools and 103 students.
The ALAS/NASP program is available to all schools in Louisiana and grants are available to assist with funding. For more information regarding the ALAS program, please contact NASP State Coordinator Robert Stroede at rstroede@wlf.la.gov or 318-484-2276.