A historic performance this past weekend has qualified the Washington Archery teams for next month’s state tournament shoot. The Washington high school, middle school, and Lincoln Elementary school teams hosted their largest shoot of the season, welcoming shooters from 26 schools. This past weekend marked the cutoff for the 2016 Iowa NASP State Tournament, taking place March 5 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, the top 15 squads in Iowa qualify.

The Demon high schoolers posted a program-best score of 3301, taking first place out of the eight-team field. The performance ranks as the 13th best overall score in the state, qualifying the team for next month’s state shoot.

Senior Jade Wells recorded the Demons’ highest overall score, posting a 287 out of a possible 300 points. Her performance featured 19 bullseyes, helping her achieve first place honors out of the 62-person high school girls field. Freshmen Mitchell Driscoll and Griffin Wood each scored identical scores of 280. Driscoll recorded two more bulleyes than Wood, taking 6th place in the high school boys competition while Wood placed seventh. The performance ranks as the 13th best overall score in the state, qualifying the team for next month’s state shoot.

The Lincoln Elementary School scored their highest marks of the season, earning first place with 2,948. Fifth grader Curtis Stender shot a squad-best score of 272, the second best performance in the 81-person elementary school boys’ field. Fifth grader Allison Rees scored the highest girls’ score, posting a 262 for second place in the 56-person elementary girls field. The team has the third best elementary score in the entire state.

The Washington middle school team finished in fourth place out of seven teams, rendering a score of 3,077. The Demons’ middle school team is the 15th best squad in the state, making the cut off for the state tournament. Sixth grader Lane Frana captured the best score on the team, marking a 276 with 14 bullseyes. His score was the sixth best in the 142-person middle school boys field. Eighth grader Samantha Mellinger had the top female score for Washington, posting a 268 with 10 bullseyes.

The Demon archers will next shoot at the 2016 Iowa NASP State Tournament Saturday, March 5, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.