Williamsburg, KY – The West Michigan Archery Center (WMAC) just outside of downtown Rockford, Michigan was founded to promote and advance the sport of archery. The facility offers a range of programs including the West Michigan Archery Center S3DA team. West Michigan Archery Center recently hosted the Michigan S3DA Outdoor Target State Championship with 66 archers from four Michigan S3DA teams coming together to compete. There was lots of action in the elimination rounds including a one arrow shoot off which was required to determine who would move on to the gold medal and bronze medal matches in Female Youth Open. Central Michigan Goldstars teammates, Evelyn Griffith and Melody Koopman were set to face off against each other. The nerves were high, but both ladies were encouraging and supportive of one another.

Young Adult Male Open archer, Thomas Quinlan from Central Michigan Goldstars said, “Archery can be tough. There are always challenges to work through. Sometimes you come out on top and other times you don’t. Whatever the outcome, I know I am always striving to do my best and enjoy each moment in what I love to do.” Thomas was in first place in his class and division going into the elimination rounds and finished as the 2023 Michigan S3DA Outdoor Target Young Adult Male Open Champion.

Joe and Abby Baltruxzak (siblings), from West Michigan Archery Center participated in their 2nd Outdoor Target competition. When asked about the shoot, they said, “Outdoor target shooting comes with its own challenges. The wind and distance are additional factors on top of the competition. We enjoy shooting in the Michigan S3DA events as they are always a fun time. It is nice to be able to talk to archers from other teams and get to know each other when shooting.”

Michigan S3DA State Coordinator, Cara Waite said, “Archery is growing in Michigan as we have had several new teams join the program this year. This was the largest participation we have had in Michigan for an Outdoor Target event to date. Many of the archers shot their very first outdoor target competition and did great. It was exciting to watch the head-to-head competitions. There were some very close matches among teammates and friends. I am excited for the future of this program!”

All young adult participants were presented with archery scholarship opportunities from Blue Mountain Christian, Lindenwood University, Lindsey Wilson College, Rend Lake College, and the University of Pikeville.

Visit the Michigan S3DA Facebook page to learn more about the program today!

About Scholastic 3-D Archery

Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) is a unique, family-oriented youth archery program which has grown exponentially across the United States as a next-step initiative to follow introductory archery programs. The mission of the Scholastic

3-D Archery program is to foster, educate and guide youth in the areas of 3D, indoor target, and outdoor target archery as well as safe, ethical bowhunting practices. The goal of the S3DA program is to provide archery and bowhunting opportunities to youth in after-school settings, as well as with archery-affiliated clubs and businesses in the community. S3DA youth participate in 3-D and target archery using compound and traditional archery equipment. Youth members can participate at regional, state and national archery events and earn college scholarships from colleges and universities across the United States. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving thousands of youth archers.

Contact the Scholastic 3-D Archery National Office at:

www.s3da.net or 410 Sycamore Street, Williamsburg, KY 40769, Ph: 606.524.3685

Media contact Kayla Bolton at kaylas3da@gmail.com, Ph: 423.494.2204