EL archer places 2nd in state

BY REGGIE SHEFFIELD

Correspondent

After taking second place in a statewide archery competition earlier this month, Elk Lake High School’s Ethan Brown is now on his way to Kentucky to take part in a national archery meet in May.

Brown will next compete in the National Archery in the Schools Program’s U.S. Eastern National Tournament May 10-12, in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Elk Lake School Board last week congratulated Brown on his high score in the state archery meet held in State College on March 9.  Brown scored 292 out of 300, earning him a second place out of 173 statewide in the Boys High School Division.

Brown said he, too, was surprised at his success with a Genesis bow, which is much different than the compound bow he is more accustomed to.

“When I started shooting my Genesis bow with our team in October, I never dreamed I’d be qualified for and heading to nationals six months later,” he told school board members last Thursday.

Brown explained how he had shot his compound bow during hunting season and bagged a 9-point buck.

Brown described the State College competition as taking “a lot of patience, practice and focus.”

Brown said he had been shooting his Genesis bow about six months and that he practices in his basement about two hours a night.

Archery Coach Rachelle Shaulis told board members that coaching archery this year has been an exciting learning experience for her, too.

“I didn’t think we would make it this far but we’re doing fantastic,” Shaulis told board members.

Shaulis said that she was impressed by how her archers performed in State College under unfamiliar and challenging circumstances.

“Some of them brought their scores up as much as 25 points at a tournament that was nothing like any of them had been at before, with so many kids and so much noise and so much action,” Shaulis said.

 “The neat thing about this is that it can attract students from any physical capability,” said Elk Lake Superintendent Kenneth Cuomo.  “You don’t have to be tall, you don’t have to be strong; you don’t have to be super athletic.  This can truly involve any student,” Cuomo said.

According to the state game commission’s website, National Archery in the Schools Program partners with state education and wildlife management agencies to promote student education and participation in the lifelong sport of archery. The program’s focus is to provide international-style archery training in school classes in grades 4 through 12. 

Elk Lake High Assistant Principal John Warnero said that he and many others eagerly await the results of Brown’s trip to Kentucky.

“There are some pretty amazing feats that Ethan accomplished just recently and his journey is going to be continuing,” Warnero said.