The 2017 Archery in Louisiana Schools (ALAS) regional tournaments, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF), concluded with a total of 1,453 participants from 53 Louisiana schools.
 
A total of 732 student archers participated in the 2017 ALAS South Regional Tournament on Jan. 14 in Alexandria. The 2017 ALAS North Regional Tournament was held on Jan. 21 in Shreveport with 721 competitors.  Regional qualifiers advance to the 2017 ALAS State Tournament, set for March 4 in Shreveport, to compete for scholarship awards and the opportunity to qualify for the 2017 NASP National Tournament.
 
Participants shot in teams of 12-24 archers in elementary, middle and high school divisions. The top three teams and top five individuals in each division were recognized in an awards ceremony at each tournament. Kaitlyn Misenheimer of Benton High School shot a 293, the highest score of either 2017 regional tournament. She earned the title of top Individual for the high school division at North Regional. Trent Ingraham of Northwood High School was close though with a score of 292, earning top individual in the middle school division at South Regional.
 
Here are the top team and top individual results for each tournament below.  For complete results, visit nasptournaments.org.  Congratulations and job well done to all archers.  
 
2017 ALAS REGIONAL TOURNAMENT TOP TEAM & TOP INDIVIDUAL  RESULTS
SOUTH REGIONALS
Team scoring
Elementary: 1. J.I. Barron Sr. Elementary, 2,837; 2. Ball Elementary, 2,795, Goodpine,  2,725.
Middle: 1. Northwood High, 3,213; 2. Jena Jr. High, 3,066; 3. Poland Jr. High, 3,062.
High school: 1. Alexandria Senior High, 3,115; 2. Acadiana High, 3,110; 3. Tioga High, 3,094.
Individual rankings
Elementary: 1. Jacob Skaggs, Northwood, 273; 2. Case Smith, Northwood, 272; 3. Micah Col, 264.
Middle: 1. Trent Ingraham, Northwood, 292; 2. Rhett Fannin, Jena, 286; 3. Lance Dykes, Northwood, 282.
High school: 1. Nathan Delill, Buckeye, 290; 2. Wayne Bearb, Acadiana, 280; 3. Ella Basco, Northwood, 278.
NORTH REGIONALS
Team scoring
Elementary: 1. Benton Elementary, 3,084; 2. Kingston Elementary, 3,069; 3. Princeton Elementary, 2,987.
Middle: 1. Benton Middle, 3,369; 2. Haughton Middle, 3,247; 3. Cope Middle, 3,151.
High school: 1. Benton High, 3,341; 2. Airline, 3,212; 3. Parkway, 3,115.
Individual rankings
Elementary: 1. Tyler Pope, Benton, 286; 2. Eden Old, Benton, 280; 3. Jason Nall, Kingston, 276.
Middle: 1. Tucker Gibbs, Benton, 291; 2. Avery Halverson, Benton, 288; 3. Lauren Bayne, 282.
High school: 1. Kaitlyn Misenheimer, Benton, 293; 2. Dakota Simpson, Caddo Magnet, 292; 3. Gabe Fradella, Benton, 286.
 
2017 ALAS STATE TOURNAMENT
 
The 2017 ALAS State Tournament will be held March 4, 2017, at the Shreveport Convention Center. This year’s state tournament will again include the NASP/IBO 3-D event. More than 1,000 student archers have already pre-registered.  This event is open to the public and free for those 18 years of age and under.  The adult admission fee is $5. The state tournament will begin with the first flight at 8 a.m. and will conclude with an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. 
 
These events are made possible by the generous contributions of our sponsors: Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office, Cenla Bowbenders, Morrell Targets, Man Cave Archery, Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority, Louisiana Archery, Whitetails Unlimited-Cenla Buckbusters, Hoot & Holler Archery, Quality Deer Management Association-Central Louisiana Branch, H&E Equipment Services, Outlaw’s BBQ, LSU AgCenter, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission, National Wild Turkey Federation-Louisiana Chapter, CENLA Signs, Homeland Security and the Louisiana National Guard. 
 
ALAS is looking to partner with Louisiana businesses and organizations to continue to support student archers. Sponsorships are still being accepted for the 2017 ALAS State Tournament.  For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact ALAS State Coordinator, Robert Stroede, at rstroede@wlf.la.gov or 318-484-2276. 
 
The ALAS program is also seeking volunteers to assist with the 2017 ALAS State Tournament. No previous experience is required but volunteers must be at least 16 years of age. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact ALAS Southeast Regional Coordinator Jan McGovern at jmcgovern@wlf.la.gov or 985-543-4930.
 
ABOUT ARCHERY IN LOUISIANA SCHOOLS
 
The Archery in Louisiana Schools program, administered by LDWF, introduces students in grades 3-12 to international target style archery as part of the in-school curriculum.  ALAS is part of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) that involves more than 14,000 schools and 2.4 million students in the United States annually. The ALAS/NASP program is available to all schools in Louisiana and grants are available to assist with funding,
For more information regarding the Archery in Louisiana Schools program contact ALAS State Coordinator Robert Stroede at rstroede@wlf.la.gov or 318-484-2276.