The stage couldn’t have stood any taller for the second-year program.
In their realm, the range in Orlando, Florida, was the pinnacle location for their craft.
Shooters from across the country, and world, were on hand in the Orange County Convention Center on July 21 and 22.
In their familiar purple polos, Seymour High School’s archery program stood with the best of them.
Seymour scored 3,227 to place 40th of 69 full high school teams in their first-ever National Archery in the Schools Program World Tournament.
Thirteen teams represented Indiana, with Madison placing the highest (13th overall).
Of the Hoosier-based schools, Seymour finished fifth — 39 points behind Jennings County.
A total of 3,764 students from 276 schools — across multiple divisions — participated at worlds.
“It was really massive,” Seymour archer John Barrett said. “It was a lot bigger than what I thought it would be. There were quite a few shooters and vendors.
“I think it’s really impressive (to go). Not a lot of two-year programs can do something like this. We have a great coach that knows what she’s doing, and a great coaching staff that knows what they’re doing.”
Cayton Bailiff and Clayton Prater led Seymour with scores of 274.
Clayton Heckman shot 273, followed by Brittany VanDoren (273), Thomas Hyland (271) and Barrett (270).
Bailiff said that competing with the best in the world was exciting.
“It brings out the archer in you,” Bailiff said. “If you get a low score, you push yourself to do better. It’s better to give it a try than to not try at all.”
All of the archers traveled on their own budget for worlds.
“The hardest thing was making sure everyone was focused,” Seymour coach Jill Purkhiser said. “It was a great experience for us, and now, we know what to expect when we go back. It was also my first time there in 10 years of coaching. I learned a lot as a coach. Next year, it will be a lot closer.
“We’ve shot better. We honestly shot 75 or 80 points fewer than what we can score. I’m proud of what they did for the first time, but I would like to see them do better next year — but that’s also the coach coming out in me.”
Due to the high costs, not all of Seymour’s top archers could make the trip to Florida.
“Everyone was responsible for their own way day due to the money situation, and that’s really why I couldn’t take my ‘A’ team down, which I totally understand,” Purkhiser said. “That opened the door for some of my ‘B’ team members, and there were some pleasant surprises.”
Hartland High School, in Michigan, won the high school division.
“The competition level was high,” Purkhiser said. “The team we shot with was out of Virginia. They placed in the top 10. They were a great group of kids. The team out of Michigan that won, they averaged 290 points per archer. They shot a 3,482. I would have loved to have seen that. That’s the competition level. It’s going up.”
Next year, the team expects to return to worlds.
The location of the event is still to be determined.
“Last year, our first year, I didn’t expect (to make it to worlds), but this year I did,” Purkhiser said. “We qualified last year but couldn’t go because of cost. I’m’ proud to say that we were a part of it. I’m really proud of these kids. We’re a family that has overcome a lot. We’ve had some major obstacles, and they’ve become a stronger team because of what they’ve overcome.”
There’s little rest for the archery program.
The club will open up to all high school students starting the second week of September before the team is narrowed down for competitions.
Anticipating between 75 and 100 archers coming out for this year’s club, the program needs help from sponsors.
Email Purkhiser at [email protected] or call 502-558-0366 if interested making a donation.