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Archery took center stage last Saturday in Ely.
Archers and families from several different communities converged at the high school gymnasium for the End of the Road Archers’ first-ever home meet.
In all, 275 students participated as the town filled with visitors for the unique event.
“It went very well,” said Eric Hart, one of the organizers of the event. “We had a great group of parents who stepped in and helped a lot. There was a great turnout. Lots of people. There were people from the community who came out and watched. It was great to see them come out and watch the kids.”
High school cousins Sabrah and Laydan Hart both gained medals during the home event.
Sabrah, a junior, shot a 280 to take first place while Laydan, who is in ninth grade, finished with a 275 for fifth place. Ely’s high school team ranked third overall.
The Ely elementary team took second in the event while the middle school team placed fourth in its division.
Ely personal bests went to: Ari Hart, Aspen MacCoy, Charlie Hway, Elam Moran, Jenna Bermel, Mason Lee, Ryker Russ and Sawyer Kannas.
The meet attracted teams from North Woods, Mesabi East, Mt. Iron-Buhl, Grand Rapids, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Greenway, Hill City and Hibbing, as well as the Assumption School of Hibbing and Grand Rapids’ Lighthouse Catholic School.
Ely’s team has participated at events across the Range for several years and organizers jumped at the chance to host a meet here in town.
“There was lots of discussion with the school and getting the gym reserved and our ability to do that, and we worked with the national archery in the schools program and their group supplies all the material, and all the targets and netting. Really Melissa (Hart) spearheaded most of it.”
In an online post, Melissa Hart noted it took 10 years for Ely to host a tournament.
“It was an exciting moment for our program, young athletes and our community to host our first archery tournament after 10 years. Our volunteers went above and beyond and seamlessly worked together to make the day a complete success,” wrote Melissa Hart.
She said End of the Road Archers was formed 10 years ago and the team’s first attended tournament was at North Woods with eight Ely archers participating in that tournament. The Ely tournament was the 106th tournament Ely archers participated in with 34 End of the Road Archers competing.
“It has been amazing to be a part of this program the past five years and to see how far it has come. None of it would be possible without our dedicated coaches and support. It is remarkable the talent that can grow from a tiny little range below NAPA!” wrote Melissa Hart.
The Ely team is taking part in the 3D regional tournament this weekend at Nashwauk with the Bullseye regional to follow the next weekend at Mt. Iron.
During the last weekend of March, Ely’s participants are eligible to take part in state tournament competition at St. Cloud, with top finishers there able to advance to national events at Salt Lake City and Myrtle Beach.
