April 15, 2019 – With 1,136 students competing, Haughton High School and Benton Middle and Elementary schools took home the top team prizes in the 2019 Archery in Louisiana Schools (ALAS) State Tournament held April 6 at the Shreveport Convention Center. A total of 50 schools took part in the event.
Students competed for $20,500 in scholarships, prizes and awards as well as the chance to qualify for the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) National Tournament to be held in May in Louisville, Kentucky. The ALAS program, part of NASP, is administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).
“The ALAS program continues to get better each year,’’ LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet said. “We now have more than 200 schools and 24,000 students who take part in the program statewide. I’d like to offer congratulations to the teams and students who advanced and competed in the ALAS state event. And we thank the sponsors, volunteers and LDWF staff who made the 2019 state tournament a successful event.’’
Haughton High won both the bullseye and 3D divisions in the high school category. Benton Middle won both in the middle school division as did Benton Elementary in the elementary school division.
Benton High’s Aiden Haire had the top bullseye score in the tournament with a 294 out of a possible 300. Haire is the only Louisiana archer to have scored a perfect 300 during competition, which he accomplished in 2016.
Cassidy Walters of Benton Middle School was the top female, recording a score of 292.
Haire was the boys high school bullseye winner with Zak Winegeart of Oak Hill taking the middle school individual title (287) and Austyn Taylor of Benton winning the elementary division (290).
Walters won the girls middle school division. Amber Long of Benton won the high school division (289) and Victoria McClung of Stockwell Place the elementary division (285).
In the 3D category, Thomas Allen of Benton Middle School had the top overall score with a 293 in the male division. Taylor Bourn of Haughton Middle School recorded the top overall female score in 3D with a 286.
Aiden Jones of Haughton won the 3D high school division in boys (289), Allen the middle school division and Spencer Campbell of Kingston Elementary the elementary division (279).
Long was the 3D female high school winner (282), Bourn the middle school champ and Anna Young of Benton Elementary captured the elementary division (280).
The top ten male and female archers in each division received an automatic berth to the NASP National Tournament, with individual honors going to the top five finishers in each division. The top three male and female shooters in the 3D portion received scholarship awards as did the top male and female overall shooters in the bullseye competition. Prize bows were also awarded to the top male and female in each division.
A list of winners can be found at the ALAS Facebook page and full results can be found at www.nasptournaments.org.
The 2019 ALAS State Tournament is made possible by the generous contributions of our sponsors: NASP, Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, ENLINK Midstream, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation-Louisiana Chapter, Hoot & Holler Archery, LSU AgCenter, Morrell Targets, H&E Equipment Services, Bass Pro Shops, Quality Deer Management Association-South Branch, Homeland Security, Academy Sports, Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office, Y-Not Stop and Outlaw’s BBQ.
The ALAS/NASP program has grown rapidly since May of 2012 when about 35 schools participated. It is offered in all parts of the state from rural to metropolitan areas. The program is designed primarily to introduce students in grades 4-12 to international target style archery. It is generally taught as part of in-school curriculum, usually in physical education classes.