When preparing for the 2021-22 archery season, Columbia sophomore Jaxon Martin called his shot, telling head coach Amanda Stanley he was going to break her school-record score of 294. With a nearly flawless performance at the MHSAA State Championship in Jackson April 3, Martin not only hit his mark (296) but brought home a custom bow as a prize for winning first place overall in individual competition.
In MHSAA competition, each archer shoots five arrows, with a perfect bull's eye shot being worth 60 points. Through five attempts, Martin racked up all but four possible points, outshining the rest of the field in an impressive, title-worthy display.
As great as it felt to have set the previous record, Stanley said being able to pass down what she learned and watch one of her students break the record was even more rewarding.
"It's such a unique experience," Stanley said. "For me, that's the goal of being a coach — to help your students become better than you ever were, or to have your students take what you learned in your experience and build on that. Jaxon breaking my record gives me validation that I am teaching my students all that I can and that I'm pushing them to be better than myself."
An avid hunter, Martin has been sharpening his archery skills since he was in the seventh grade, and he's put down a couple deer with his bow in the process. Although shooting at moving targets is a much different task with its own unique challenges, Martin said the skill translates well from one stage to the other, which has allowed him to continue improving even in his free time.
"I shoot pretty much the same with my hunting bow as I do with my competition bow," Martin said. "So it's not really that different. It's mostly just muscle memory, doing the same thing over and over to make sure you get the same shot on every release."
His love for the sport makes it more of a passion for him than a craft, according to Stanley, which she believes has made coaching him a rather simple and enjoyable experience.
"Jaxon is a wonderful archer. He works both during the season and in the offseason, and I believe that's a major contributing factor in his success," Stanley said. "He puts in the work and is not complacent. He strives to be better. As a coach, I love that he takes feedback and uses every ounce of it to better himself in the sport. If I'm coaching him, he asks questions and makes sure he completely understands what I'm asking of him.
"I've coached him since he was in seventh grade, and it has been an amazing transformation to watch. To see him stepping up and helping other members of the team really makes me proud. I sometimes take a step back and let him explain things. The younger students really look up to him. He's a real leader on the team."
With Stanley's and Martin's help, Columbia did well enough to amass a total team score of 2,928. Several other members posted personal best performances as well, such as Wyatt Miller (271), Austin Crawford (264) and MaKenzie Westmoreland (219).
Despite having called his shot on breaking the record, Martin said even he was a little surprised by the ultimate outcome, having won first place overall at the event. Still not complacent, however, the success is driving him to work even harder as he continues to sharpen his skills and work towards bigger goals he has set for the near future.
"I wasn't really expecting to win state, but I thought I had a real shot to break the record, and that if I could do that then I would have a good chance," Martin said. "As for the future, I'd like to keep getting better and eventually compete in college. I believe there are five colleges in Mississippi who have archery teams. It's a little bit different than what we do now, but it's really competitive, and I think it'd be really fun."
