The Summer Creek High School JROTC Archery Team completed a successful inaugural season by competing at the JROTC Archery Nationals at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, against some of the top JROTC archery teams in the nation in May.
The team qualified for nationals after competing in National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) events, an impressive accomplishment considering the program was established in late November and team members had been shooting for only five to six months.
“I never thought about being an archer, but I gave it a try and thought, ‘Okay, this is groovy,’” Cadet Corporal Quinterra Davis said. “Now, I think archery is something really special because this is our first year doing it, and we made it all the way to nationals.”
The Summer Creek team included:
Cadet Lt. Col. Alexandra Kozarsky
Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Nguyen
Cadet Capt. Aviana Martinez
Cadet Capt. Savanah Mac Allister
Cadet Sgt. 1st Class Kennedy Frenza
Cadet Cpl. Alexandra Gutierrez
Cadet Cpl. Quinterra Davis
Cadet Pfc. Albright Lin
At nationals, the cadets competed in both the 3D and bullseye divisions. The team scored 1,398 points in the 3D competition, placing 51st out of 63 teams, and earned 1,526 points in the bullseye competition, finishing 41st out of 64 teams.
In addition to competing, the cadets met 13-time World Champion archer Joella Bates and received challenge coins from Command Sgt. Maj. Walls, the Cadet Command CSM.
“The reward is not the program. It’s the individual achievements — what the kids do, seeing them grow, develop, learn and become better archers and better people in some way or capacity,” Master Sgt. Basilio Hernandez said.
Qualifying for and competing in a national championship during the program’s first year marks a significant milestone for the Summer Creek JROTC Archery Team and establishes a strong foundation for future success.