Ryle archers shoot for the stars

From the Union Recorder . . .

UNION — It has been nearly 10 years since Brenda Klaas was roped in by the skill needed in archery.

Since then, the Ryle High School educator has built the largest archery club in Northern Kentucky. And she hopes the sport keeps building.

Ryle will find out April 10 if it will be able to participate in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) national championships May 11-12 in Louisville. The higher finishers in the recent state tournament get dibs on qualifying spots.

Archery just finished its first season under Kentucky High School Athletic Association jurisdiction and awarded championships concurrent with the NASP titles awarded in March. Ryle was not sanctioned by the KHSAA this season, but the Raiders did well in the NASP competition.

“If we had been sanctioned this year, we would have been regional runner-up and had two regional medalists,” Klaas said.

Ryle was 27th in the state competition overall. The team score was a combination of both genders, with at least five of each gender required. Players shot 30 arrows, with a maximum of 10 points for hitting the narrow bullseye in the middle of the target.

In the boys tourney, Sam Loehrke finished 49th with a score of 285 out of a perfect 300. The field had 758 boys entered. Raiders Jack Kirby and Ryan Gilbert tied for 117th with 278.

In girls, Elizabeth Shouse shot 275 to finish 72nd out of 508 entrants, and Emily Fair shot 265 to finish 168th.

Klaas, the school technology coordinator at Ryle, started the program in 2004 after her husband took her to the state tournament to support a friend in the Highlands High School program. She quickly saw the sport was something that her students could enjoy.

“There were kids four feet tall next to kids six feet tall, and they were on a level playing field,” she said. “I’ve seen kids with disabilities and in wheelchairs shooting, and blind kids shooting. It was a great program and I thought this will be great for Ryle.”

Klaas has 70 members in the Ryle program, and another 100 shoot the arrows at Gray Middle School on the same campus. She said interest has grown in the past couple of years with the popularity of the Hunger Games book series. The series, which boasts Union native Josh Hutcherson as a major character in the movie versions, has a bow and arrow as the weapon of choice for characters including the main heroine, Katniss Everdeen.

“I get people all the time who ask me for private lessons,” Klaas said. “That was a major spark.”

She said Cooper will soon become the second high school in the county to start a program. Only a handful of Northern Kentucky schools participated in the tournaments this year.

Klaas, whose daughter Cailtyn is on the varsity team, said archery narrows a student’s focus.

“When you’re in the competition, it’s getting them to focus on sticking to the routine, not rushing, and not letting your competitors get into your head,” she said. “If you have a bad shot, you have to let it go.”

Follow James on Twitter @RecorderWeber.