Rigby teen wins first place in national archery tournament
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IDAHO FALLS – Hunter Hall is pleased with his performance during the annual National Field Archery Association’s Las Vegas Shoot.
The 17-year-old Rigby teen took home the national championship title in the young adult male division on Feb. 4. Though Hunter is excited about the victory, he tells EastIdahoNews.com he was just happy to be part of it.
“I mainly did it because it’s fun but based on last year’s scores, I knew I had a chance,” Hunter says.
Hunter was one of 3,816 participants in the two-day competition, which attracted people from all over the world. In addition to the first-place trophy, Hunter was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to the college of his choice.
Hunter grew up in a bow-hunting family. His dad, Lyle, participated in the Las Vegas event about 13 years ago, so Hunter decided he’d give it a try.
The competition involves shooting a total of 60 arrows at a target from 20 yards away. The goal is to get the highest number of points. A perfect score is 600 points. Over the course of two days, Hunter got a combined score of 596 points.
“I shot at 9:30 on the first day. You shoot an entire round (of 30 arrows) and then you’re done for the day,” says Hunter. “(The idea) is to put all 60 of your arrows inside the 10 ring, which is maybe an inch and a half (in diameter). I missed that circle four times.”
After the first day of the competition, Hall was sitting in 4th place, according to a news release. Shortly into day two, he had already moved into the top spot among the 73 archers in his division.
Hunter is a senior at Rigby High School. After graduating in May, he’s planning to get a job framing houses in Jackson or work for Idaho Steel in Idaho Falls.
He’s planning to participate in the competition again next year.
Hunter wasn’t the only person from eastern Idaho to take home an award. Seventeen-year-old Lucas Hayes, an eastern Idaho native, finished 16th in the competition with 584 points. He and Hunter both shoot for the NexGen Archers team at Archery Idaho in Idaho Falls, and they were shooting neck-and-neck going into day two.
“We not only push ourselves daily but being in such close competition, we are constantly pushing each other to be better,” Hayes says in a news release.
Other local archers making an impact in Las Vegas were youth female standout CJ Day, who finished twelfth in her division with a two-day score of 577. The news release did not specify where she is from.
Saylee Clark of Menan finished 35th for young adult females with a score of 576, followed close behind by Dallie Simper who scored 555 and finished 62nd overall.
In the adult division, Jessey Smith of Idaho Falls took third place nationally with a score of 899 out of 900 over three days. He was followed by local Justin Huntsman, who earned 893 points and finished in 7th place. Shelli Clark, one of the NexGen Archers coaches, finished first in the female bowhunter division with a score of 859.