Windham Archers Head to Indoor Nationals

The Windham High School Archery Team, a new addition to the WHS sports programs as of last year, has made its mark in the archery world. The team has spent much of the year competing in big tournaments around the Northeast and this weekend will be partaking in the State Archery Association of Massachusetts’ Indoor Nationals competition in Fiskdale, Massachusetts. As described by one of the teams’ coaches, Ms. Wong, “It’s THE event that all competitive archers work towards for the indoor season.” For the rest of the season the competitions are strictly regional while Indoor Nationals covers a much wider range of archers, allowing the competitors from our small town the opportunity to branch out and challenge themselves against more competitors.

This tournament will be the team’s sixth this year. So far the Windham Archers have consistently placed in the top percentages of their divisions, the team’s main competitors being Marissa Yost, Cassie Haley, Joshua Allen, Jared Mrvos, Jack Donovan, and Max Johnson along with their coaches Sonia Wong and Guy Gerig.

The team offers a unique opportunity for students to challenge themselves not only physically, but mentally as well. “You have to learn how to focus in order to be a consistent shooter, whether the focus is on the strength of the release or just willing that arrow to hit the center of the target. The brain is a powerful organ, much more powerful that most people give it credit for,” explained Sonia Wong. She herself got into archery, admittedly, because of The Lord of the Rings movies. Whatever the reason, it seems that fate brought Ms. Wong to Windham High. “My proudest moment was watching Marissa earn her way to a top half finish in last year’s Indoor Nationals,” she said, amazed and proud of how far the team has come in the past year.

The team’s co-coach and sponsor, Guy Gerig, has an extensive background in the archery world. He lands somewhere in the top 20 archers in the nation, having been a member of the US National Team as well as a finalist for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Teams. Presently, he is preparing himself to compete for a place on the 2016 Olympic Team.

The team has proven to be a fantastic opportunity for WHS students. Jared Mrvos, a relatively new member but one of the team’s main competitors, explained “the competitions allow me to show my abilities with archery while also having a good time and meeting people from all around the East Coast.” He was “recruited” by Ms. Wong, but shooting has been a long-time hobby for him. Joshua Allen, also one of the team’s main competitors, said, “the competitions help to show me the progress that I’ve made and how much I should improve.” Archery teaches these students life-long lessons about discipline and focus. Even if the archers do not continue the sport in college or later on, these skills will remain with them.

Coach Sonia Wong hopes to see the team expand and branch out to a national level. Already the team is regarded as highly competitive, but she sees potential in these young athletes. “There is not a doubt in my mind that we eventually can get to that level,” she said.

We wish all our competitors the best of luck at Indoor Nationals!