Lucky 7's

Layton Jacobson has done it again. He is a state champion in archery. He claimed the top spot in middle school boys' 3D for the second year in a row with a score of 285.

Consistency and careful calculation have been the hallmarks of his championship run for two years running. His score improved from 282 in last year's state tournament.

The North Dakota NASP State Tournament brought Jacobson and nearly 700 other archers to the North Dakota State Fair Center in Minot on Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18. And despite the frightful travel conditions, NR-S archers came to compete.

Two of Jacobson's middle school team members, Koy Zieman and Eli Alfstad, also earned a trip to nationals in 3D. Zieman finished third and Alfstad fourth, with scores of 282 and 280, respectively.

In the bullseye division, Jacobson led the Rockets with a 288 and finished in second place among middle school boys. The state champion, Kade Hentz of Hankinson, had the same score but managed to shoot just one more "10" or center bullseye than Jacobson.

Koy Zieman was just one point behind Jacobson, and he finished third among middle school boys in bullseye with a 287.

NR-S has a strong middle school team this year, with 23 archers competing in that division. Throughout the season the Rockets have consistently dominated the leader board, with more than one archer finishing in the top 5 at each and every tournament.

Now in its seventh season, the Rocket archery program generated its first championship team! The middle school team finished first place in bullseye with 3,236 total points and 121 "tens"!

Here's how the team competition works: a school must have at least 12 individuals competing in any one division at the state tournament, and must have at least four archers of each gender. With more than 60 archers on the roster, NR-S had enough shooters to enter the team competition for all three divisions in both 3D and bullseye: elementary (grades 4-5), middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12).

Organizers take the top 12 individual scores, and the team with the highest total points from all 12 scores combined has an automatic berth at the national tournament. The second and third place teams in each division also receive a team trophy and individual medals for each archer.

Middle school team members are Braylon Alfstad, Eli Alfstad, MacKenzie Allmaras, Beau Baumbach, Kaylynn Chamberlain, Katie Cleveland, Ayden Gable, Seth Greiner, Angelina Hall, Tatyn Heskin, Sawyer Huso, Layton Jacobson, Aubree Kukowski, Raegyn Lange, Olivia Larson, Glenn Skjerva, Gabe Smith, Neecie Swart, Austin Weisenburger, Christopher Wiedrich, Chaztin Wobbema, Lance Ziegler and Koy Zieman.

In the elementary boys' division of 3D, fifth graders Camden Rieger and Tyler Zieman punched their tickets to nationals. Rieger finished third overall with a 256, and Tyler captured the 10 spot with a 241.

Rieger also finished in the top 10 in the elementary bullseye tournament. He logged a personal best score of 268 and finished eighth among the elementary boys. He will have the opportunity to shoot two flights at the NASP Western Nationals.

Taylin Jacobson earned ninth place among elementary girls with a 253 and will make her first national tournament appearance.

Sophomore Bradyn Collier was the lone high school archer to earn a slot at nationals. He scored a 282 and claimed the #8 spot among high school boys in the bullseye tournament.

Senior Mark McDowell completed his last season with the Rockets with a strong finish, and he claimed the #11 slot among high school boys with a 280.

The high school archers didn't garner any top 10 finishes in 3D, but they gave it a valiant effort. The team finished third in bullseye and earned a trophy for their efforts.

Notably, senior Kyria Dockter's score of 273 in 3D put her within three points of the top 10, and she ended her high school career in 11th place. Dockter earned four national tournament appearances in her seven seasons with the Rockets. She participated in three national 3D tournaments: in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2019 she also qualified for nationals in bullseye with a ninth place finish in middle school girls' bullseye.

NR-S had 53 archers competing in the state tournament this year, and 17 of them shot new personal best scores. These can be found to the left.

Six Midkota-Kensal archers also punched tickets to the national tournament. In bullseye, Nolan Hoffman and Cole Wessel claimed two of the top 10 slots in the elementary boys' division. Wessels finished in sixth place with a 271, and Hoffman was right behind with a 270, good for seventh place.

Midkota-Kensal found more success in the 3D tournament, with four archers earning top 10 slots. They earned national tournament berths in all three levels of competition. Junior Kyle Johnson led the way for the Mustangs in 3D. He scored 277 and earned the fifth place medal in the high school boys' division.

Harlie Hoyt earned her slot at nationals with a sixth place finish among middle school girls. Her score was 274.

Jesse Wessels rounded out the top 10 in the middle school boys' division with a score of 272.

In the elementary division, it was Avery Johnson who made a mark. She finished seventh among the elementary girls with a 232.

The NASP Western National Tournament will be held in Sandy, Utah on April 28 and 29. More details about who will represent the middle school team at the tournament will be released at a later date.