The archery team from Jefferson High School isn’t messing around.
In only its second year of existence, the Blue Jays team took 12th place at the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) World Championship, held June 11-12 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“There were 24 teams in the 3D division,” Coach Sherri Rawe said. “And the scoring was unbelievably tight; the spread between seventh place and 14th place was 18 points. So, while we finished in 12th, we were less than an arrow away from seventh place.”
She said that’s an impressive finish for a new team.
Fox, Seckman, Hillsboro, Festus and De Soto high schools also field NASP archery teams, but none took part in the NASP World Championship.
The Blue Jays’ inaugural season during the 2019-2020 school year got off to a promising start.
“The season is roughly concurrent with basketball,” Rawe said. “We start practice around Thanksgiving, and tournament play starts in March. We did local competitions, and qualified for the state tournament in Branson.
“But four days before the tournament, the world shut down. So the kids didn’t get the crescendo at the end; they never got to experience upper-echelon competition and all the things that come with it.”
This past school year, with the cautious return of many school events, the Blue Jays got the chance to start again on the path to the world championship. The Blue Jays qualified both middle school and high school teams for the state tournament, held in March in Branson, where they placed 10th in 3D and 19th in bullseye.
The national-level tournament was virtual, with each school shooting at its own venue under proctored conditions and scores reported to the NASP record-keepers.
“We finished 25 out of 102 teams in high school 3D,” Rawe said. “That qualified us to go to the worlds in June.”
High school archers under NASP may shoot either bullseye or 3D targets.
Bullseye features the familiar round target with concentric rings, each assigned a point value up to 10.
For 3D, the target is a life-sized, animal-shaped plastic figure, with different parts of the anatomy assigned different point values.
“The overwhelming majority of teams shoot bullseye pretty exclusively,” Rawe said.
A round consists of 30 arrows; a perfect score is 300. Scorers record the archer’s cumulative points but also the number of “10s,” or perfect shots.
“That’s how they determine the winner if there’s a tie in points,” Rawe explained. “The archer with the most 10s wins.”
Coach by default
The Jefferson R-7 archery program was started in 2019, after the district’s Board of Education voted to add both archery and golf to the school’s athletic offerings.
“There was no one interested in the (coaching) job, and there was a chance it wasn’t going to take off,” Rawe said. “When (activities director Jason) Dreyer found out I had an archery background, he asked me if I would be the team sponsor – not even really coach; they were going to do it on a recreational level until they found someone else.”
Rawe, 49, has been shooting competitively for 32 years and earned several state and national archery titles as an adult.
“I was going through some rough times in life, and it was like therapy for me,” she said. “It’s a great sport. I had no idea how I would do as a coach, but now, here we are. And I’m not going anywhere. These are my kids, and they are amazing.”
One big, happy family
Rawe said she initially was a little nervous about taking on the coaching role.
“There were definitely eyes on the program,” she said. “Was it going to sink or swim? And I have such an eclectic mix of kids. I have kids who do music, Student Council, sports, art, theater – and some who don’t do any other activities. But when I bring them all together, something wonderful happens.”
Varsity archer Dakota McDaniel, who graduated in May, says it is all about the chemistry.
“Our team is a gigantic family,” he said. “We ended up bonding really well. We go to team dinners together, and everyone cares for one another, cheers for each other.”
Kaelyn Nilson, who will be a junior when the next school year starts in August, said she joined the team on a whim.
“There might be a few kids who bow hunt, but most of us had never even picked up a bow before,” she said. “I joined not really expecting much, and it’s become a big part of my life now.
“One of my favorite parts is that we’re a mix of a lot of types of students. I’ve made so many new friendships.”
The archers credit Rawe with teaching them more than just the mechanics of the sport.
“Our coach cares about every kid in the program and makes sure they get what they need to be the best they can,” McDaniel said.
Most of the team members are designated as Academic Archers, meaning they have been recognized for academic excellence, which qualifies them for special awards and gifts, and even for college scholarships.
“I have one archer – Colby Harris, who just graduated – who received a scholarship to Lindenwood as a member of their archery team,” Rawe said.
McDaniel hopes to join him there after spending a year at Jefferson College.
The Blue Jays have their sights set on an even better finish next year.
“I’ve secured more than $15,000 in grants for equipment, so the school has been out zero dollars for startup,” Rawe said.
She said the biggest cost is the entry fees for tournaments, which can run from $10-$15 per archer.
“I try to keep the schedule so they’re not going to a tournament every weekend,” she said. “There are optional ones, though, where they have to pay their own fee and Mom and Dad have to drive them, and it’s amazing how many kids are eager to pick up every one possible.”