News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Over seventy-five Putnam County students will be competing at the National Archery in the Schools Program’s 17th State Championships this week.
Cookeville High School Head Archery Coach Michael LeBlanc said students from fourth to twelfth grade will be competing at the event. LeBlanc said this event is the only tournament in the year where students can qualify for the Eastern Nationals Championships.
“We go about as far east as Crab Orchard, we go to Dibrell which is in McMinnville, and then we pretty much just stay in the local area as far as Monterey, Van Buren County,” LeBlanc said. “So all of our tournaments are kind of only in Middle Tennessee where now you’re competing against some bigger districts and bigger schools.”
LeBlanc said many of his students are repeat archers so they are ready and excited to compete. LeBlanc said students can qualify for nationals either by scoring top ten in their division or with a high score for the whole team.
The tournament begins on Wednesday afternoon at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro.
“You have to have a team score kind of based on their rate,” LeBlanc said. “I want to say the lowest score you can have for elementary is a 2,500 where they take the top twelve kids. Middle school is 3,000 points and high school is 3,100.”
LeBlanc also serves as the head archery coach for Prescott South Elementary and Middle Schools. LeBlanc said he expects thirty elementary students, thirty-six middle schoolers, and twelve high schoolers to come from the schools where he coaches.
LeBlanc said the elementary and middle school archery teams have been able to go to Eastern Nationals both of the last two years. LeBlanc said it is an honor to get to compete alongside other archery programs that have been around for ten to fifteen years, as Putnam’s program is only five years old.
