Arnold Sports Festival Archers Shine at NASP World Tournament

Jacob Riffle of Meigs High School and Kelsey Taylor of Morgan High School each finished in second at the first-ever National Archery in the Schools Program World Tournament this past weekend at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Riffle and Taylor were among 40 Ohio competitors who earned spots in the world tournament through qualifying at the Ohio NASP Tournament, held each year as part of the Arnold Archery Competition at the Arnold Sports Festival, and the national tournament which is held each year in Louisville, Ky.

Riffle, who finished first in the High School Male Division at the 2009 Ohio NASP Tournament, finished tied for first at the World Tournament, held Oct. 8-11, with a score of 293 before losing in a shootout. Adrian Sprankle of Maysville High School, who finished second to Riffle in Columbus, finished sixth in the World Tournament.

Taylor, first in the High School Female Division at the Ohio NASP event, finished second at the world tourney with a score of 293.

“Congratulations to all of the students and coaches for attending the first ever NASP World Tournament and for all of the hard work and sacrifices it took to get there,” said Kevin Dixon, shooting sports coordinator for the Ohio Division of Wildlife and chairman of the Arnold Archery Competition. “All of these students represented their schools and Ohio’s National Archery in the Schools Program well.”

Other top finishers from Ohio included Paige Philips of Meigs Intermediate School (seventh, Elementary Female), Josh Gilkey of Meigs Intermediate School (third, Elementary Male), Selena Reynolds of Meigs Middle School (eighth, Middle School Female) and Trey McKinney of Meigs Middle School (fourth, Middle School Male).

Ohio had two school teams attend the World Tournament, with Meigs Middle School finishing fourth and Meigs High School finishing sixth.

The fourth-annual Ohio NASP State Tournament will once again be held in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival. This year’s tournament is scheduled for Friday, March 5 at Veterans Memorial.