East Burke Middle wins another archery state title

Burke County student-athletes fared well per usual in the National Archery in the Schools Program’s (NASP) 2025 North Carolina State Bullseye Tournament in Winston-Salem on Feb. 14-15.

East Burke junior Natalie Bell finished first place among all high school archers, and Icard fifth grader Hunter Huffman was the overall individual elementary champion, while eighth grader Conner Kerley was the top middle school boys performer, helping lead 2024 bullseye and 3D team champion East Burke to yet another state title.

The Raiders scored 3,285 points to finish more than 100 points clear of second place in what was also their fifth victory of the 2024-25 season as a team in as many tournaments.

Kerley, who was state 3D runner up last spring, produced a personal-best score of 287 points that included 18 perfect tens as he finished second overall among middle schoolers. He placed just ahead of EBMS teammate Luke Duncan (284, fourth place), an eighth grader who was the defending state champion in both disciplines.

EBMS eighth grader Aubree Garris (282) was seventh individually, including second among girls, and the Raiders’ Logan Berry, Bailey Hildebrand, Madison Payne, and Xander Mobley also finished inside the top 20.

Also at the middle-school level, fifth-place Table Rock was led by eighth graders Crayton Pollard (personal best) and Simon Hefner, who tied for eighth place with 281 points, just ahead of sixth grader Layton Morris in 10th place at 280. And sixth-place Heritage was led by William Bowman in 13th (275).

In high school competition, Bell was at the head of the class again as she scored 295 points, hitting 25 tens to pace the Cavaliers to a third-place team mark.

For the always dominant Bell, it was an eighth consecutive individual state title in bullseye, which was also her 13th state title spanning the bullseye and 3D disciplines, and she was also named an academic archer.

Fellow academic archer Hudson Lentz, an EBHS junior, was fourth overall in the prep division (285).

Huffman, who likewise was named an academic archer, won his elementary portion individually with a personal-best 269 that included 13 tens as Icard placed second as a team, just ahead of county schools Drexel in third and George Hildebrand in fourth.

Drexel fifth graders Eli Warr (262) and Zeke Bean (259) placed third and fifth, respectively, and their teammates Nathan Swearingen and Dawson Crowe tied at 258 as they also collected top-10 showings, just ahead of Icard academic archers Brandt Patton and Cassidy Gladden (256 apiece).

Salem placed seventh as a team, led by Max Whisnant (245), and Valdese was 10th, led by Jace Ramsey (247).

Next up, the NASP state 3D tournament is March 29 in Hudson. Afterward, qualifiers will head to the eastern nationals for both the bullseye and 3D disciplines from May 8-10 in Louisville, Ky., before nationals for both disciplines caps the season in Myrtle Beach, S.C., from June 5-7.