ON TARGET: 11-year-old Alex Weisenburger adds National Champion 3D archer to his list of accomplishments

Alex Weisenburger is the newest celebrity in town. He is now the first NR-S archer to place at the National Archery in the School Program (NASP) Western National championship.

Alex was among six NR-S students who qualified for the national competition at the state tournament in Minot on March 22 and 23. On Thursday, April 25, these students and their families piled into the Rocket bus and made the trip to Salt Lake City.

According to Coach Jamie Risovi, "There are two things we try to make priorities when going to tournaments. Number one, we represent the school and community as best as we can. After that, we hope to shoot our best score."

On Friday, April 26, Alex took aim in the 3D Tournament and did just that with a score of 280. Not only was this Alex's new personal best, but it was enough to put him in the top spot in the elementary boys division.

When his family asked how he did (and before the scores were posted), Alex just simply said rather calmly, "I did really good," and kept his cool. He later told me during his interview, "I knew I had shot the best I'd ever done. I was just glad that I was able to score that well at a tournament."

"It was still early," says Alex's father Lucas. "It was only the second flight, so we really didn't expect that he'd stay in first." After all, there were hundreds of teams and thousands of students competing.

The next day, the group competed in an early flight in the Bullseye Tournament and had plans to leave around noon. However Alex had not only maintained his first place position, but he also held the fourth place spot in the bullseye competition.

At that point, all the families agreed they would delay their departure in order to stay for the awards ceremony. "It wasn't a question for them," says Alex's mother Terah who was grateful for the support of the team, even if it meant getting home late.

Perhaps that little bit of selfless support comes with the territory of hailing from a small community. Or perhaps it has something to do with what NASP calls "The Archery Way" which instills the values of honesty and integrity among its archers. Skills such as these aren't something that will fizzle in time, these are lesson for life.

That support for the archers hasn't waned after arriving home, either. On Tuesday, April 30, NR-S held an assembly to recognize Alex and the other archers who competed at the Western National, and on May 25, things get really exciting with a Wienerschnitzel Bike Run. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. at Buck-Its bar and will cost $20 per bike and $5 per rider. A supper will follow from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the New Rockford Eagles Club. The supper is open to the public, and all proceeds will go to the NR-S Youth Archery Team for next year's season.

"We're the new kids on the block," says Coach Risovi, "but we're also the fastest growing." When NR-S began the archery program just three years ago, there were 35 students. The following year, there were 47. This year there were 61 archers who competed at tournaments throughout the state.

This was Alex's second season in archery. In fact, he attended the Eastern National tournament last year as well. One look at the scores and it is easy to see the progress he's made from 224 to 280 in the 3D Tournament and 251 to 274 in the Bullseye Tournament.

Practice played a big role in Alex's growth as an archer. In addition to the regular practices at school, Alex hones his skills in his garage, where they can just manage to set up a target at the 10 meter line. Still, just like the best of us, Alex did find himself in a rut and admits, "It actually felt like a really rough year. I didn't always do well at some of the tournaments."

He said he practiced a lot on the 3D targets just in order to get to know them, citing "there is more room for error." The bullseye though, he says he can shoot more consistently. He plans to continue practicing on both. When asked if he had any advice for aspiring archers, Alex said, "Practice. Shoot a lot of arrows. Don't give up, even if you're in a slump. That's how we get to be our best."

Individual Stats

Logan Cudworth, fifth grade, ranked 54/102 in the elementary girls Bullseye Tournament with a score of 228. In the 3D Tournament, Cudworth ranked 33/76 with a score of 215.

Alex Weisenburger, fifth grade, ranked 1/95 in the Elementary Boys Division in the 3D Tournament with a score of 280. In the Bullseye Tournament, Weisenburger placed 4/142 with a score of 274.

Hunter Genre, sixth grade, scored 280 in the Bullseye Tournament and 277 in the 3D Tournament. His score in the bullseye competition put him in a ranking of 24/296 middle school boys. For the 3D Tournament, Genre ranked 16/166 middle school boys.

Kyria Dockter, eighth grade, also competed in the Bullseye and 3D Tournament. She scored 279 in the bullseye competition and ranked 12/270 among middle school girls. In the 3D Tournament, Dockter scored 247, ranking 82/160 for middle school girls.

Eighth grader Hallie Brown ranked 158/160 in the middle school girls 3D Tournament with a score of 155.

Sophomore Koven Walford competed in the 3D Tournament and ranked 19/118 with a score of 282.