Grand Ledge Archery
April 15, 2019
Archers shoot from the 15 meter line at the Grand Ledge Archery Classic. Volunteers helped with setting up the targets, sponsor signs, target numbers, and even put the shooters tape down on the floor.
GL Archery Classic
2018 Benji Crowner Archery Tournament
Grand Ledge high school archers who stayed at the tournament claimed their second and third place trophies. The tournament started at eight in the morning and went until after six when the trophies got handed out.
Bows and arrows are not just for hunting anymore. Bows are also used for the competitive sport of archery. From the Olympics to high school sports teams, the sport is growing every year.
On Oct. 20, the second annual Grand Ledge Archery Classic took place. This year it was named the Benji Crowner GL Archery Classic in remembrance of Coach Crowner. Coach Crowner passed away earlier this year from his battle with cancer. He loved the sport of archery and he loved coaching the kids involved in the sport. His daughter, freshman Mckenna Wischmeyer, reflected on the tournament and the name change.
“I’m honestly pretty happy and it makes me happy to have him remembered through a tournament, because archery was his life and it’s mine too,” Wischmeyer said. “I think it was very successful, and I’m glad how great it turned out!”
Top male archer, Justin Miller, and top female archer, Anna Herbert with their first place medals and signed hats. The hats they won were GL archery hats signed by Grand Ledge native, Tom Nelson, host of American Archer TV.
The tournament lasted from eight in the morning to six in the afternoon. 360 archers from 17 different schools in the tri-state area came to compete in the tournament. States like IN, OH, and MI. Luckily, because the tournament was held inside, the heavy rain did not have an affect on it. GLHS archery teams one and two took second and third place in the tournament, and Hartland High School took first. First, second, and third place teams for high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools took home the trophies, while the top five archers took home medals. The top male and female competitors not only won first place medals, but also won a GL archery hat signed by Tom Nelson, the American Archer tv show host who lives in Grand Ledge. Along with the team trophies, two GL archers placed in the top five in the female division. Junior Alex Hart took home the second place medal, and Wischmeyer placed fifth.
“It was very successful,” Coach Shaltry said. “We had over 300 archers from the tri-state area. The farthest teams drove from Indiana, about two and a half hours away. It’s great to see kids from all different backgrounds, sizes, and abilities having fun in one of the greatest sports ever. Everybody had a lot of fun!”
Grand Ledge archers shoot in the first flight of the day. The high school has three different practices a week after school in the archery range.
The tournament was not only successful, it was also fun, which made it a relaxed environment for the archers.
“It was great!” junior Josie Earle stated. “It was very low stress and a good way to start out the season.”
The tournament was successful because of the great, hardworking volunteers that helped plan, set-up, and run the tournament.
GL will be competing in the Hartland Invitational on Oct. 27 in Hartland, MI, and in the Whitco fall tournament on Nov. 3 in Larwill, IN. Good luck GLHS archers, and congratulations on another successful tournament.
Top three schools, and top five male and female archers.
Grand Ledge’s Archery Teams Compete at the State Tournament
Grand Ledge archers shoot in the sixth and last flight of the day at the State Tournament. The tournament was held at the Lansing Center for the first time.
As we approach spring, the sport of archery gains momentum into its most important time of the season: the Archery State Tournament.
On Saturday, Mar. 16, over 850 archers from around the state of Michigan ascended on the capital city to compete in the state tournament. This year, the state tournament for archery was held at the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing, MI. The change of venue from the Central Michigan Student Activities Center to the Lansing Center came after the MI Department of Natural Resources decided to let the MI coaches step up and run the tournament with NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program). It was the first tournament run by the new MI NASP Archery Council. Grand Ledge archery coach, Kelly Shaltry, and coaches from Hartland, Portage Central, Okemos, and many other schools helped put the tournament together with the help of volunteers.
The Grand Ledge archery team qualified for the Archery Nationals Tournament. This is the seventh year in a row that the GL team qualified.
“States went awesome for our first state tournament run by the coaches around the state,” Shaltry said. “The National Archery in the Schools (NASP) organization gave us a lot of support. It ran very smooth. With 140 archers shooting at a time, it was great to see all of the kids so highly trained that it just went great. With this being the first one run by the new MI NASP Archery Council, it went really well.”
GL archers shot alongside archers from Howell, East Lansing, Okemos, Hartland, Fowlerville, Gaylord, Portage Central, and many more. According to coach Shaltry, GL did very well and earned them another trip to Nationals.
“Many of the Grand Ledge archers set their personal tournament record scores and the high school set its team Personal Record,” Shaltry said. “Both the Middle School and High School teams qualified to go to Nationals in May in Louisville, KY. This is the 7th year in a row that the Grand Ledge Archery Program has qualified for the Archery Nationals. Last year, they shot against over 15,000 of the best archers in the United States.”
Grand Ledge placed fifth in the high school division of the tournament behind Portage Central, Fowlerville, Howell, and the first place team, Hartland. GL may have not taken the first place trophy home, but they have qualified to go to Nationals in May. However, to coach Shaltry, he wants the kids to have fun, continue to have a lot of firsts, and continue to develop and expand the sport.
The trophy table has all 3 sets of trophies for the Elementary, Middle School, and High School divisions. The top male and female archers got a plaque and a new, red, metallic Genesis Bow.
“[I’m] looking forward to next year,” Shaltry said. “We would like to continue to grow the sport and get more schools involved so that we can grow as big as we can. Kentucky held their State Tournament this last weekend and had 7,100 archers participate. I want to follow in their footsteps. The next schools that will start archery programs will be Dewitt and Williamston. Maybe someday we will form the Capital Area Archery Conference (CAAC) and have more opportunities to shoot. It is such an amazing program! What other sport can claim that anyone can participate no matter what their abilities or disabilities? We have kids that shoot from wheelchairs, use their teeth to shoot, and always have a great time making lifelong friends. Last year, we had our first wedding for archers that met in archery the first year of the program 7 years ago.”
Congrats to the Grand Ledge archery teams for qualifying and good luck to GL when they go to compete at Nationals. The archery program is expanding across the state of MI and the country. Hopefully it continues to grow and become the best sport in can be.