Among  a record crowd of participants competing at Thursday’s National Archery in the Schools Program’s National Shoot, the 18 archers from Washington scored the finest marks in program history.The Demons’ day of competition from the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center rendered nine finishes of 270 points and higher, and a program best score of 3277 points. The perfect individual score in archery is 300 and the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center is hosting a record 12,000 archery teams from 43 states.

Senior Kyle Basten saved his most outstanding performance for his final high school archery event, scoring 284 points and posting 18 bullseyes. Head archery coach Jolleen Cerka says it was a finish every senior dreams of,  “When you are a senior, you hope you save everything you have for the most important shoot and he did.” Cerka said, “He shot a perfect score on one of the 10 meter marks and he was extremely excited when he did that and I think it boosted his confidence for the rest of the day.”

Prior to nationals, Basten’s best score came on January 30 at the Anamosa Tournament, carding a 281 for a 10th place finish out of 237 competitors. Basten’s performance yesterday was equaled by sophomore John Sands, who achieved the score with 15 bullseyes. It was his second best score of the season, posting 286 in two separate tournaments this winter.

Junior Jade Wells was the top scoring girl for Washington, achieving a score of 276 and recording 10 bullseyes. It was the ninth time this season Wells had scored above 270 points, and is nine points shy of her season best.

Fifth grader Olin Wells, one of two Lincoln Elementary students to qualify for the National Shoot, shot a 272 during his first trip national competition. The score is the 11th best among elementary shooters in the United States. Fellow classmate Kenna Rathmell shot a 233 during her first day at nationals.

Other Washington archers who scored higher than 270 includes: Joseph Dalziel (279), Mitchell Driscoll (274), Grace Shafer-Smith (273), Samantha Mellinger (272), and Cody Mellinger (272).

After day one, the Washington High School Archery team was the eighth best team among the hundreds who are at nationals. Final team and individual placing won’ t be official until the conclusion of the national shoot on Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned to KCII for final results on Monday’s sports page.