Clemente Archers compete in National Archery Tournament
Greetings for Louisville, Kentucky! On Friday May 13, Clemente’s world-class archers took a 7-hour bus ride south to compete against the top archery teams from all over the nation. After a season full of challenges, including placing lower than expected at several in-state tournaments, our team kept pushing harder towards our true goal: qualify for nationals and then qualify for the World Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in late June.
Here is how Christopher Russo, Clemente’s top archer at this year’s National Tournament (with a score of 282) said about his first experience at Nationals. “Friday morning, the team woke up around 6am and got ready to bring their A-game. I only slept 3 hours, but I was wide awake and ready. We got to the convention center at about 9am. I only had one goal on my mind: break a 280. In the past, I’ve come close, but I was determined today. As soon as I walked in the door, I put my game face on and grabbed my bow. I was ready. While shooting, I felt like everything was going my way. It just felt natural. After the last round at 15 meters, I looked at my score card and only saw one 7 and one 8. I knew right then and there that I had to have achieved my goal! Honestly, it’s a really great feeling when you work so hard at something and achieve what you set out to get done.”
The team heads home with a collective score of 3275, which we hope will take us to our next goal: qualifying for the World Tournament. Congrats to all the Wildcat Archers, especially Christopher Russo and our new team captains, who will take command in the fall of 2016: Yetzamil Pedroza and Gianna Borrero.
Visit rccachicago.org in June for more updates!