Haymarket Student Archers Qualify for Nationals at State Championship

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Reagan Middle School Archers take home scholarship funds. (Prince William County Schools.)

Submitted by Prince William County Schools Office of Community Relations

PWCS archers can put a feather in their caps. Overall, 18 students from the Haymarket area qualified for nationals on their own merit, finishing in the top 10 for males and females at the state championships held in March.

Nine were among the top three finishers in three competitions, contributing to their teams’ championship titles. The championships are sponsored by the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).

Scholarship Shoot Off

In the Scholarship Shoot Off, three students earned scholarships and trophies. Ashleigh Kraemer, Battlefield High School, finished as the number three female, but won the top scholarship of $2500. She and another female were tied after the first round of the shoot off, so they had a 1-arrow-closest-to-the-middle shoot to break the tie. Alex Kuzmicki, Battlefield High, came in as the top male but finished with the second-place scholarship for $1500. Gabe Hyde, Reagan Middle School, was the only middle-schooler competing. He was number three male overall, and earned $500 in the scholarship shoot off.

3D Competition

In the 3D (fake animals) competition, Reagan Middle won its second consecutive state championship. Battlefield High School won its first-ever team state championship; its score of 1701 would have won the national tournament last year, according to archery coach Jonathan Bukva, Reagan athletic director.

Haymarket Elementary School student Leea Choi, a member of the Reagan team, finished as state champion. She shot a 200 in practice last week and a 252 at the tournament to win. In this division, Reagan Middle female archers finished as follows: 2-Naomi Heilen, 3-Alexandra Williams, and 4-Ella Brazy; among male competitors, Cody Lawhorn was the state champion and the tournament’s top archer, with Aiden Donohoe coming in fifth.

Battlefield High School’s Ashleigh Kraemer earned the state title in the 3D Competition, with Elise Ambrose and Nancy Stephenson finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Among male archers, Nick Miller was the state champion, with Alex Kuzmicki second and Adrian Engel, fourth.

Bullseye Competition

In the Bullseye competition, Reagan won its second consecutive state championship and Battlefield finished second in the team competition by 14 points.

“Reagan's score of 3399 is a state record and that score would have finished second at Nationals and won Worlds last year,” Bukva said.

Reagan archer Naomi Heilen placed third for females, and Gabe Hyde and Aiden Donohoe finished first and second, respectively. Battlefield’s Alex Kuzmicki was the state champion and Nick Miller, Battlefield, was third in the male division.

Top Finishers 

Top-10 finishers were, from Reagan Middle School, 1-Gabe Hyde, 2-Aiden Donohoe, 5-Cody Lawhorn, 3-Naomi Heilen, 9-Alex Harrison, 9-Advi Vallaban, and 10-Sanna Karkera. From Battlefield High School, top-10 archers were 1-Alex Kuzmicki, 3-Ashleigh Kraemer, 3-Nick Miller, 6-Nancy Stephenson, 7-Hannah Morehead, and 10-Sarah Byrne.

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