Not in Our House! Rambow Archers Make Their Mark
Jarrod E. Stephens
The Ashland Beacon
Every competitive sport has its own uniqueness that makes it what it is. Ball sports and their raucous crowds and loud bands energize the competitors as they struggle to win. NASP archery is quite the opposite. It’s all about concentration and making the perfect shot.
NASP archery tournaments are quiet and organized to ensure clear concentration for the competitors. The only noise is the sound of arrows hitting the targets and the archer’s inner self-guiding each shot. Our region is home to some of the best archers in the state, and one local school district continued its streak of excellence at a tournament that it hosted.
At the conclusion of the Raceland Shootout, the message found on Coach Doug Burchett’s Facebook page said it best. “Not in Our House!” Burchett has been coaching the Rambow’s Archery team since 2006 and has set the bar of excellence that shines from elementary through the middle and high school teams.
Several years ago, I asked Doug what he liked about archery. His answer was clear. “I just love working with the kids,” Burchett said. “I really wish I would have started working with kids earlier in my life.”
If you ever see Doug at archery practice or a NASP tournament, it won’t take you long to detect that his energy and enthusiasm for the sport are quite contagious. You will likely hear him singing with the archers as he lines them up for their flight.
For Doug and his teams, winning has become quite a tradition year after year. This season has been no exception. His Rambow Elementary team won first place in the tournament with a score of 2,956. The win gives them eight straight first-place finishes for the season. Two of the top 10 boys were Rambow team members as well as four of the top 10 girls.
Logan Erwin placed sixth with a score of 253, and teammate Hunter French placed eighth with a score of 248. For the girls, Lea Lizarraga placed first with a score of 269. Kendall Moore shot 256 which was good enough for third place. Bailee Dean shot a 248 and placed sixth while Calli Bentley shot 244 and placed 10th.
The winning for the Rambow Archers did not stop at the elementary level. Raceland’s Middle School Archery Team also placed first with a score of 3,132. Like the elementary team, several middle school archers placed in the top 10. First place was taken by Gatlin Stephens with a score of 284, and Caden Smith earned second place with a score of 279. Ninth and 10th places were also taken by Raceland archers. Jaden Corbin and Stephen Kesner both scored 269 which gave them the final two spots in the top 10. In the girl’s division, Lilah White claimed second place with a score of 279, and Eva Thomas placed fifth with a 268.
In the high school boy ranks, Billy Hughes placed fourth with a score of 283. In the high school girl division, Madison Hampton placed second with a score of 285.
Tradition runs deep in the Raceland archery family as many archers are the siblings of archers in the past. At present, the Raceland Elementary Archery team ranks sixth in the state and 16th nationally. Lea Lizarraga ranks 16th in elementary girls Kendall Moore ranks 46th.
The middle school team is currently ranked 40th in the state. Gatlin Stephens is ranked 11th in the state, and Caden Smith is ranked 28th in the state middle school boy’s division. Lilah White ranks 24th in middle school girls.
With nearly five weeks remaining before the NASP State Tournament in Louisville, the Raceland Archery Teams still have some opportunities to darken their mark on dominance in the region. While nothing in the future of competition is a given, one fact stands out. If you want to want a first-place archery trophy in Raceland, you are going to have to come take it because as coach Burchett put it, “Not in our house!”
