Northeastern has a first-of-its-kind title, having won archery trophies for schools within the Tri-Eastern Conference on Dec. 14.
Teams of 12 shooters competing for TEC honors with the Knights were Hagerstown, Union County and Tri. Archers from Union City and Lincoln shot as individuals.
Northeastern won the high school team title with 3,195 points, with Knights shooting eight of the top 10 scores. Union County took second place, scoring 2,809; Hagerstown, 2,782; and Tri, 2,652.
Top 10 high school archers were Noah Willett, NHS, 285 (top male); Dakota Booker, NHS, 281; Annie Hickel, NHS, 276 (top female); Devan Hill, UCo, 276; Aerriana Johnson, NHS, 274; Haylee Brown, NHS, 268; Bailey Berhalter, NHS, 265; Cadence Daffron, Tri, 263; Casey Schepman, NHS, 262; and Regan Hayes, NHS, 262.
Northeastern fielded the only full team at the middle school level, scoring 2,970 points. Individual archers from Lincoln scored the top three places in middle school shooting. Union City and Hagerstown archers competed as individuals.
Top 10 middle school shooters were Coleson Burdette, LHS, 270 (top male); Andi Lakes, LHS, 266 (top female); Kyra Elliot, LHS, 262; Makenna Burdette, NMS, 262; Bryson Henemyre, NMS, 259; Hunter Thomas, NMS, 257; Hayden Goble, NMS, 250; Briar VanHoorebeke, 249; Reid Kerns, UCity, 248; Elijah Burns, HMS, 248.
Archery is a club sport, not sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Coaches of teams in TEC schools decided to have a conference-wide meet, said Brian Richmond, Northeastern’s coach. Several local schools have fielded archery clubs in the past several seasons. The schools participate through the National Archery in the Schools Program, which provides equipment, rules and a national tournament structure. Coaches are volunteers and the program runs from fall until late spring.
Archery will resume after Christmas break. Clubs and individuals that qualify will shoot in a state competition at Indianapolis on March 8. From there, qualifiers can go to an eastern regional in Louisville in May, and can qualify for a national meet in Florida.
A version of this article appeared in the January 1 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.