SULPHUR ROCK — Reese Birkhead said she’s been shooting guns and bows for as long as she can remember. Well, that experience, and watching her older brother, Jacob, may have helped her win a state title in archery.
Birkhead, a fifth-grade student at Sulphur Rock Magnet Elementary School, is the 2017 Arkansas National Archery in the Schools Program state champion for elementary-school-age girls.
Birkhead scored 270 in the event March 3 at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs.
“I started watching my brother shoot because I came to his practices before we went to school,” Birkhead said. “I liked it. I joined the first year that I could (fourth grade). I’ve been shooting bows and guns all my life.”
The archery competition is for students in grades four through 12, Sulphur Rock coach Alisha Branscum said.
“In our case, we didn’t have enough to comfortably go to nationals, so we added a third-grader,” Branscum said. “In order to have a third-grade girl, we had to have the principal OK it.” That shooter is Addyson Hall.
Birkhead said she’s attended the state tournament several times in the past because her brother, Jacob, who is now in seventh grade, had participated.
“I shot there last year, so I’ve been there three times, so I was kind of comfortable,” she said. “When I get pressure put on me, it’s better.”
The Sulphur Rock shooters participated in the state meet early in the morning March 3. Birkhead didn’t know she had won until she was eating dinner at a restaurant in Bald Knob.
“I got the call when I was eating crawfish,” Birkhead said. “I couldn’t grab the phone because I had crawfish all over my hands. We finally got a text that said I won first place.”
Branscum said she didn’t know if the scores from the early session would hold up during the day.
“We knew we had several people against us who would shoot better than us,” she said. “So [Birkhead] never thought she’d still be in first place.”
Birkhead said she was excited when she found out she had won the state title. She said her family was excited, but not necessarily Jacob, because she had a higher score that day.
“He was kind of mad,” she said with a laugh.
The Sulphur Rock team will attend the national tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, in May.
“We possibly get to miss three days of school if we get the right date,” Birkhead said.
The team practices four days a week, starting at 6:55 a.m. They have 16 shooters who will attend the national meet.
The archery season started at the end of September, Branscum said.
“The sooner you start, the better they get at shooting,” she said.
Branscum said she tries to make practice fun for the shooters.
“Sometimes they get to shoot a cup on the target or a dead bug that is on the target, or even balloons,” she said. “We try to make it fun, but we also have to get a good score so that we can go to the tournaments.”
At state in Hot Springs, Sulphur Rock finished fifth in the team standings.
“But we plan on beating our state score of 2,882 when we go to nationals,” Branscum said.
Fifth-grader Jackson McCormick is ranked first on the team. He also scored 270 in the state meet, which was good enough for sixth in the boys division. Fifth-grader Levi Branscum is ranked third, and he is the 3-D target tournament champion in all Arkansas elementary students.
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.