Hays-Lodge Pole archery sees success at Great Falls tournament

Press release

The Hays-Lodge Pole High School archery team competed in high school archery tournament in Great Falls Wednesday, Jan. 31.

There were 47 boys and 27 girls competing, including 12 from Hays-Lodge Pole. The rest were from Trout Creek, the Great Falls High ROTC program, and Paris Gibson High School, an alternative high school in Great Falls. Students competed in both target and 3D events. James Sullivan of Hays-Lodge Pole and Ruby Hardman of Trout Creek came out on top in both competitions.

Sullivan set a new personal record with a score of 258 to win the main target competition and then tallied 259 points to win the 3D event. The 3D event was added this year to make the tournaments more interesting.

After a warm-up round, students shoot five arrows at each three-dimensional model of six different game animals. In the main event, archers shoot 15 arrows at a target from 10 meters and 15 arrows from 15 meters. For their victories in the main event, Sullivan and Hardman earned $100 gift cards to Scheele’s, caps, and gold medals.

Brad Snell finished second in the 3D event and Ethan Jones finished fourth. Here is a complete list of how the Thunderbirds faired in the tournament.

Boys’ Target Event (47 competitors)

First: James Sullivan (258), 10th – Ethan Jones (247), 11th: Brad Snell (246), 14th: Calvin Tumalak (232), 18th: Kalue Bell (219), 20th: Byard Kirkaldie (215), 23rd: Kolby Moss (204)

Girls Target Event (27 competitors)

Seventh: Haley Cichosz (237), 10th: Danielle Messerly (225), 11th: Taliyah Manuel (211), 12th: Jayla Haakanson (211), 13th: Amy Cochran (202)

Boys 3D Event (22 competitors)

First: James Sullivan (259), Second: Brad Snell (248), Fourth: Ethan Jones (240), Sixth: Calvin Tumalak (232), Eighth: Kalue Bell (229), 13th: Kolby Moss (213), 15th: Byard Kirkaldie (205)

Girls 3D Event (21 competitors)

Eighth: Hsley Cichosz (230), 10th: Taliyah Manuel (212), 11th: Jayla Haakanson (211), 13th: Danielle Messerly (197), 17th: Amy Cochran (171)

The next competition for the Hays-Lodge Pole program will be the third annual intramural tournament which runs Monday through Thursday, Feb. 5-8. The top 10 high school boys and girls earn hoodies and top boy and girl will each earn trophies. The top three junior high finishers will also earn hoodies, with trophies for the winners as well. Awards will be presented at the pep assembly held prior to the district basketball tournament.

The Hays-Lodge Pole archery program is part of the National Archery in Schools Program, which is run by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The FWP person in charge of Montana’s NASP is Ryan Schmalz in Helena. NASP is a nationwide program with millions of students involved. People can check out their website at https://www.naspschools.or .