Youths compete in Junior Olympic Archery Development Invitational championships in Kenmore
Published 9:32 am Monday, September 9, 2013
Young athletes from throughout Washington State converged at the Wildlife Committee of Washington’s (WCW) shooting range in Kenmore to compete for the state Junior Olympic Archery Development Invitational championships in August.
Youth archers from the WCW/JOAD program placed within the top three archers for each of the categories that the club members competed in, and swept the top three spots for four of those categories. Going into the competition Mike Wichser, head coach for the WCW-Ed Eliason JOAD program, had high expectations for his students.
As a nationally recognized coach, Wichser was awarded the 2011 JOAD coach of the year by the United States Archery Committee. Through Wichser’s training program, which includes assistant coaches Doug and Lori Roop, club athletes have achieved national and world rankings, and consistently placed in the United States Archery Team – four of whom were selected in 2013 and six in 2012.
The WCW JOAD’s outstanding training – coupled with intensified recruiting efforts – resulted in more students seeking to join the club and contributing to the club reaching its capacity limit over the past several years. This year, in an effort to accommodate the new pool of talented prospects, Wichser is considering expanding the training schedule to include weekends.
“I wish we could let more of these kids in, but we just don’t have the space,” said Wichser.
WCW/JOAD members who placed within the top three of their divisions are: Keith Steedman, Trevor Christensen, Zachary Shaw, Ryan Johnson, Tyler Chu, Chasen Hacking, Citori Jones, Alexa Claps, Anzu Yonezawa, Audrey Anderson, Cara Drake, Eleanor Pahl, Delaney Norman, Eliana Claps, Kelsey Drake, Nicole Sudore, Elizabeth Caughell, Madison Eich and Alexis Drake.
