Forbush High School of East Bend in Yadkin County continued its domination of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Youth Hunter Education Skills Tournament.
Forbush’s Senior Red team swept archery, muzzle-loader and shotgun events to total 3,756 points and win the April 24 event at Millstone 4-H Center near Ellerbe.
The state tournament saw high school, middle school and elementary schools tangle for the right to advance to the national tournament at Mansfield, Pa.
“We put a lot of time into (hunter-safety education), and we have a lot of parental support,” said Dink Reavis, the second-year Forbush coach. “Some type of practice goes on seven days a week in compass, maps, orienteering and animal identification. We also spend two to three days a week on the range with shotguns, archery, muzzle-loader and rifle practice.”
Forbush has captured 10 state championships and six national titles, including the 2009 crown.
At the state tournament, students competed in rifle, shotgun and archery, along with an orienteering challenge and a conservation test. Points scored in each event counted toward each team’s final score.
“The degree of the skills exhibited by these young people at the state championships is incredible,” said Travis Casper, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s assistant hunter-education programs coordinator.
Gray Stone Day School of Richfield placed second in the senior division with 3,724 points, with East Forsyth’s Blue team was third with 3717 points.
South Davie Middle School took the Junior High team title with 3,617 points, followed by Park Ridge Christian with 3,610 and Perquimans County with 3,594.
Andrew Welker of Gray Stone Day School captured the individual points championship for senior-high contestants with 772 points. Levi Epps had 767 points for West Montgomery to finish second, while Matthew Spartz’s 767 points and a tie-breaker win earned third-place for Lee Senior.
Hunter Efird of Park Ridge Christian won the individual junior high points title with 758 points. Matthew Flinchum of Starmont was second with 749 points, followed by Logan Jenkins of Ridgecroft Academy with 748 points.
Forbush Red scored 986 points to win the Senior archery title. Forbush Blue was second, followed by Orange County Team 1. Todd Patterson of Forbush Red tallied a perfect 200 to take the individual archery crown. Austin Bryard of Northeast Academy finished second, with Ryan McHenry of Hunt was third.
Gray Stone Day School took the Senior Hunter Skills event with 915 points, with Western Harnett second at 910 and Starmount third at 909. Individually in Senior Hunter Skills, Matthew Spartz of Lee Senior scored 191, followed by Carson Perry and Matt Mason, both of West Harnett.
Perquimans HS captured the Senior rifle team title with 941 points followed by Forbush Red (938) and Farmville Central Blue (918). Kyle Proctor of Perquimans won the Senior individual rifle event with 192 (5X), while Jacob Longworth of Surry Central was second and Todd Patterson of Forbush Red finished third.
Forbush Red tallied 980 points to capture the Senior shotgun crown followed by East Forsyth and Forbush White. Jake Shields of East Forsyth won the individual shotgun while Caleb Reavis of Forbush Red finished second and Tyler Testerman of Forbush White was third.
Forbush Red’s 400 points also grabbed the Senior muzzle-loader title, while Forbush Blue was second and West Carteret was third. John Melton of Holmes High won the individual senior muzzle-loader event followed by Asa Matthews of Farmville Central and Matthew Gould of West Carteret.
Attendance by spectators reached 3,200, the highest number of observers the event has witnessed. Fifty-four school teams participated along with 904 students.
“I think the attention the (Commission) staff and hunter education specialists give to hunter safety in schools has helped get the word out about this event to the schools,” Casper said. “The specialists began an active campaign to promote hunter safety and the tournament in 2002. Since then we have had a 40-percent increase in participation.”
Teams are organized within public and private schools, while home-schooled students and teams representing youth groups, such as 4-H or FFA, can compete, provided they meet eligibility requirements.
Be the first to comment