Hardin County Archery hosts successful Regional qualifier; Armstrong, Cullum, Hicks, Lane, Mosby, Oxford place in tournament

Forty-one shooters took part in Hardin County Archery’s S3DA regional qualifier Saturday, May 18. Teams from the Southern Illinois region were represented in the tournament; some travelling nearly two hours to attend. After a brief safety meeting, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a prayer by Adriana Armstrong, contestants made their way to the 20 target course at 9 a.m.
“We’ve made significant changes to our course,” said Assistant Archery Coach Darrick Armstrong. “Last year’s course was all field shots. This year we’ve cut a new trail through the woods so the range consists of 9 field shots and 11 wooded shots.” Armstrong added, “We got a lot of positive feedback from coaches and students on the new layout.” Eli landingham and Micheal Westfall (S3DA Regional Coordinators) also complimented the Hardin County crew on how well the tournament was conducted.Mid 80s temps and sunshine made for ideal shooting conditions.
Adriana Armstrong (high school female advanced pins), Brody Oxford (high school male olympic recurve), and Jay Hicks (high school male traditional) led the team with gold medal finishes. Kylie Mosby ( high school female pins) and Bryson Cullum (high school male pins) received silver medals and recorded their personal best scores. Sean Lane (high school male pins class) brought home the bronze medal.
“Once again our team proved that they have a lot of talent. Two of our young men shot a one arrow tie breaker with all contestants and spectators watching which is a huge mental obstacle,” said Head Coach Susan Armstrong. “Both handled the situation like pros, which made all of our coaches very proud. With continued practice we should be tough to beat at the state tournament.”
Shooting for the Cougars on Saturday were Adriana Armstrong, Brody Oxford, Bryson Cullum, Gage Winters, Jaden Conkle, Jay Hicks, Kylie Mosby, Makayla Clark, Sean Lane, and Wyatt Dutton.We also had a very successful day with the concession stand. “Chef” Matt Cullum and parent volunteers had a near sell out. All our food and drinks were donated by archery parents and 60 burgers were donated by Sloan Street Market.
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Illinois S3DA had two regional tournaments in full swing on Saturday, May 25th. Adriana Armstrong traveled to Belleville, Illinois to attend Mid-America’s first outdoor target tournament. S3DA started having this type of archery competition this year. The students shoot six arrows for six rounds at a distance of 50 meters (54 yards). This is very similar of what you may see on TV during the Olympics. Adriana wanted to participate in this tourney so she may qualify for Scholastic Archery’s Shooter of the Year.
Adriana qualified and won a gold medal in the High School Female Advanced Pins Class.
Adriana said, “I enjoyed competing in a different avenue of archery and meeting new people at the tournament.”
On the same day Adriana’s teammates, Bryson Cullum, Jaden Conkle, Kylie Mosby, and Wyatt Dutton traveled to 10-Mile Creek State Park in McLeansboro, Illinois. This was Hamilton County’s first time to host a S3DA 3D shoot.
Coach Chris Scott said, “The whole team (coaches, students, and parents) worked very hard on the range all week to get it ready for the tournament.”
Scott also reported that 70 shooters were registered for the event. The 20-target course was very challenging with a lot of up and down hill shots that really tested the students’ skills. Kylie Mosby (Sophomore) led the way for the Cougars taking the silver medal in the High School Female Pins Class while shooting a new personal best score. Wyatt Dutton also made the podium and brought home the bronze medal in the High School Male Pins Class.
The Cougars will travel to Beall Woods State Park at Mount Carmel on June 1st for the Edwards County Regional.