Warsaw's new sport a bulls-eye for youth

While iconicized in the tales of Robin Hood, archery has never gained the main-stream attention to merit a place in central Missouri elementary, middle school or high school athletics.

At least, not until now.

Hosting the first ever interscholastic National Archery in the Schools Program in the Show Me state, Warsaw High School welcomed students from Otterville High School, Warsaw South Elementary, Warsaw North Elementary and John Boise Middle School for a dual competition that featured fourth-to 12th-graders competing in separate divisions on Dec. 7.

Trained in a regimented program in the core principles of archery: history, safety, technique, equipment, mental concentration, core strengthening and physical fitness, 32 student-athletes drew back their bows and competed in an event ran by Outdoor Skills Specialist Mark Miller, who works for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The student-athletes took aim at 80-cm bulls-eye targets from distances of 10 and 15 meters, with one warmup flight -- consisting of five arrows -- and three flights for competition. The results varied, but for a program introduced only a few months earlier, the event showcased some serious marksmanship.

Competing for a top score of 300, Otterville’s Emalie Oehrke won the girls high school division with a score of 211, besting classmate Morgan Steck for second place. Warsaw’s Calli Larson finished third, followed by Otterville’s Laurissa Shackles in fourth and Warsaw’s Aubry Grenoble in fifth.

In the high school boys division, the top five competitors hailed from Warsaw. Derek Mullen’s score of 256 was good enough for first, followed closely by Chris McGovern and Chris Engebretsen. Cody Hugunin finished in fourth place and Dylan Paris rounded out the group in fifth.

In the middle school division, Warsaw native Tyler Dority took home first with a score of 229 and fifth-grader Connor Spunaugle bested fourth-grader Cash Miller with a score of 186 in the elementary division.

“It was a great event,” physical education teacher and Warsaw archery coach Marc Spunaugle said, who brought the program to Warsaw. “We announced the results over the PA system the next morning and afterward, around 60 kids approached me in the hallway wanting to know more about the team and how they could join. The reaction was everything and more than I could have hoped for.”

The level of interest bodes well for the new year, as Warsaw elementary schools will offer a two-week archery tutorial next year to train the young prodigies. The high school will offer a more invasive 4-week program, taught in the Outdoor Sports physical education class, but Spunaugle believes that all the age groups will be able to meet soon for after-school practices starting in January.

“With archery, we had to find a secure space that was closed off to the public with all the entry ways and exits closed off,” Spunaugle said. “That kind of limits our resources. But we found a space in the Community Building in downtown Warsaw and...it looks like we’ll have that space for practices by the start of the school year in January.”

The new space will accommodate the growing numbers and prepare the team for the upcoming Kansas City Regional NASP Tournament, to be held at Warsaw High School at 9 a.m. on Jan. 23.

From there, individuals and the team can attend the state tournament, held at Linn State Technical College on Feb. 13, which is open to all fourth-to 12th-grade trained archers.

“We plan to make the trip and hope to do well there as a team, possibly qualifying for nationals. If not, it would be great to get some individuals to nationals (held in Louisville, Ky. on May 7 and May 8),” Spunaugle said.

While the accolades would be icing on the cake for Spunaugle and his young archers, he believes the overall success of the program lies in the overwhelming support they’ve received.

“The administration and community have supported us through it all and have been integral in letting this program grow and bloom into what it is now,” Spunaugle said. “This is really a unique program that’s not offered everywhere, so we feel blessed to live in a town where we could make this happen.”