Valley Sports ReportSYRACUSE — Waverly 4th-grader Easton Beach won a state title, and 7th-grader Sawyr Lyons became the sixth Wolverine to punch her ticket to Nationals here Friday at the New York State Bulls-Eye Tournament.
“There were some solid PRs and most of the kids shot really well," said Waverly coach Mark Bakley. "It’s a different environment and nerves really play a factor for some of the kids.
"All in all, it was a great day and when you crown a State Champion that for sure is a great day," added Bakley. "95 percent of the team shot in the 200s, which is what we want to see.”
The tournament featured 34 teams and 541 archers from across New York State.
Easton scored 275 points out of 300, which also placed in him the Top 10 overall out of 268 male archers in the tournament.
Easton also competed and took home first place in the NY State 3D a few weeks prior and will represent N.Y. State and Waverly School District at the Nationals Tournament this May in Louisville, Kentucky.
Easton will be joined at Nationals by Lyons, fourth-grader Beau Bauman, Darrell Dragoo, Riley Sindoni, and 11th-grader Ava Witman
Lyons, a third-year archer placed 10th in the state out of 100 archers in her division, which punched her ticket to compete at Nationals.
Lyons also competed in the 3D Tournament and placed seveth, which qualified her to shoot at Nationals for 3D.
Witman was the second highest shooter for the Wolverines with a 259 and a PR for her in her first state tourney.
Sophia Nierstedt shot a 237, up from a 164 last year and up from a 166 at regionals.
Quinn Lyons shot 251, while Mark Myers shot a 242, Blake Draper had a 239, Lucas Besecker was at 233, Haley Burdick shot a 228, Darrel Dragoo had a 217, Helena Zimmer shot a 212, Eric Holstrom III shot a 210, Alyssa Stoddard and Rebecca Stoddard each shot a 206, Ethan Stoddard shot a 199, Kristina Bitz had a 193, Abigail Donovan had a 136, and Riley Sindoni shot a 68.
Waverly's six archers will compete at Nationals in Kentucky in May.
“The future looks bright," said Bakley. "We lose two seniors this year, so I hope to see everyone back and gain a few more for next season.
"We could really benefit from having 12 to 15 kids per division when it comes to tournament scoring, but at the end of the day, I'm thankful for the kids and parents who want to commit their time and energy to the sport," noted Bakley.
"I have to give a big 'thanks' to the Dr. Knolles, Rich McIntosh and Eric Reznicek for all they do behind the scenes to make this possible," he added.
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IN PHOTO 1: Easton Beach. ... PHOTOS BY MARK BAKLEY.
