Aidan Haire, an eighth grader from Benton Middle School, won both the bulls eye and 3-D overall competition in the 2016 Archery in Louisiana Schools State Tournament, held in Alexandria on March 4-5. Haire’s performance earned him $6,250 in scholarships in the tournament, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
 
Haire had a score of 294 in the bulls eye competition and 283 in the 3-D contest. Those were the best scores in any of the divisions.
 
A total of 822 students from 37 Louisiana schools took part in the ALAS state event, competing to qualify for the National Archery in Schools Program National Tournament and for $17,500 in scholarships.
 
Two competitions were held, including the bull’s eye contest and the ALAS 3-D event. Students competed in three divisions, including elementary (grades 3-5), middle school (6-8) and high school (9-12).
 
Haire helped lead Benton Middle School to the team title in the middle school division for both the bulls eye and 3-D events. Benton Elementary also captured both events in the elementary division. Airline High won the bulls eye competition and Benton High the 3-D division in the high school divisions.
 
The teams from Benton Elementary, Benton Middle and Airline High qualified for the NASP National Tournament in Louisville, Ky., on May 12-14. The top 10 male and female archers in each division also receive an automatic berth to the NASP National Tournament.
 
A list of all national qualifiers can be found at the Archery in Louisiana Schools Facebook page. For complete results, logon to www.nasptournaments.org.
 
The top male and female in each division received a state prize bow. The top three male and female shooters in the bulls eye portion receive scholarships as do the top male and female overall shooter in the 3-D competition.
 
Emma Bunch, of Benton Middle School, took home top honors for females in 3-D and received a $1,250 scholarship. Anna Robins of Benton Middle School won top female honors in bulls eye with a score of 289, which earned her a $5,000 scholarship. Kaitlyn Masters (288) and Kaitlyn Misenheimer (285), both of Benton Middle School, rounded out the top three in bulls eye for the females and took home $2,000 and $500, respectively, in scholarships.
 
Nathan Delill of Buckeye High School finished first in bulls eye in the high school division with a score of 290 and received a $2,000 scholarship. His 290 score was second overall in the state event. Shelby Stout a sixth grader from Northwood High School took home a $500 scholarship, finishing third overall in bulls eye with a score of 288.
 
Scholarships were made possible thanks to donations by the National Archery in the Schools Program, Central Louisiana Quality Deer Management Association, Louisiana Archery and Sports Center and Man Cave Archery. The LDWF would like to extend a special thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers and staff that made this year’s event possible.
 
The LDWF would like to congratulate all the students, coaches and schools who participated in this year’s ALAS State Tournament and wish the best of luck to all those traveling to the NASP National Tournament.
 
All of the students and schools that participated at the ALAS State Tournament are members of the ALAS program, which teaches NASP to students in grades 3-12 as part of its in-school curriculum.  All schools in the state are eligible to participate in the ALAS program. The program is facilitated and funded by the LDWF.
 
For more information about the ALAS program contact ALAS state coordinator Robert Stroede at rstroede@wlf.la.gov or 381-484-2276.