Columbia Academy’s archery team has become accustomed to winning in MAIS, but the Cougars took it to another level last weekend.
They had three archers win gold at the State Games, all in different age divisions. Josh Stuckey earned first in the 11th-12th-grade division, Jaylyn Bridgman in ninth-10th-grade division and Maci Eggan in fourth through sixth-grade division.
“I was extremely proud of my team members,” coach Mike Barber said. “Last year we won a couple silver and a bronze, but three first place gold medals is definitely a reflection of where our program and team members are at. The State Games shoot is wide open. It's an individual competition, and it's not broken down by school sizes or public/private.”
Barber added this time of year most of the archers’ scores are 10-15 points down after spending time away from practice.
“Jaylyn outscored this year’s top female in the state by two points. Maci, coming off her fourth-grade year as a first-year archer, shot an amazing 277,” he said. “Josh also shot really well, only a few points off his regular season average.”
Next up for Cougar Archery will be its 2018 cougar archery camp where it has 70 archers signed up from more than eight schools. Barber said there are only 10 spots open at this time.
Pictured Above: From left, Columbia Academy archers Maci Eggan, Josh Stuckey and Jaylyn Bridgman show off the gold medals they earned at the State Games in Meridian recently. | Photos Submitted
