Atherton Hosts First Archery Tournament of the Season

Callie Thornton and Lucas Selch • January 13, 2026

With Archery season in full swing, Atherton held its first Archery tournament on Saturday, December 13.

The tournament was led by Atherton sophomore Sabrina Garcia-Reyes with a score of 283, a personal best for her, followed by Oldham Co. junior Nicholas Phillips with 281, and Fairdale senior Lillian Bickers also with a score of 281.

The high school division tournament was led by Saint Xavier High School with a score of 3255, followed by Atherton’s team 1 with 3238, and Fairdale’s team 1 with a score of 3222.

Middle school was a close race taken by Saint Albert the Great with a 3038, falling behind by 2 points, East Oldham with 3036, and Ramsey with a 2809.

In the Elementary School division, Fairdale came ahead with a 2402, Saint Albert following by 10, and Saint Raphael in 3rd with a 1962.

Atherton had 2 other students in the top 10, junior Conner Higgins (280), and senior Lucas Selch (278), with many other archers with Personal Bests in both amount of 10’s and overall score.

Atherton’s 3 Teams all score well, with Team 1 scoring 3238 and placing 2nd, the Second team scored a 2929 and placed 7th, and Team 3 scored a 2662, ranking 10th

Jacob Thomas (12) has been doing archery since he was 8 and has been teaching for 2 years. Thomas stayed at Atherton all day Saturday to help run the tournament, and saw most of the team shoot. He noted how organizing the tournament can be difficult, but everyone did well.

“The hardest part of hosting a tournament is definitely coordination over all, having everyone doing the right thing is difficult,” said Thomas.

Thomas also acknowledged how he wants to make sure next year goes well for the seniors. He wants to make sure next year starts off right once this year’s seniors graduate.

“I want to help bring everybody together and make sure everyone has a good start for next year once the seniors leave,” said Thomas.

Gideon Dunn (12), the team Captain, notes how the tournament was very good overall and how everyone had a good time.

“We did a really great job keeping everything smooth and well-run. There were very few hiccups throughout the tournament, if any at all. And overall, I think a lot of people had a good time,” said Dunn.

Dunn mentioned how hard communication was with JCPS’ new contact policy and hopes it gets easier for next year’s captain, Braxton Weatherly (11).

“I really just hope that we can keep how close-knit the community is, but I hope communication gets easier from coach to archer,” said Dunn.

Unfortunately, the winter weather caused JCPS to have an NTI day Friday the 12th, preventing students from shooting that night. Parents of team members came Friday evening to help set up, and archers began shooting Saturday morning.

Congratulations Ravens on your personal and team Scores! The next home tournament is Atherton’s Winter Blast on January 16th and 17th. Come out and support our Ravens!

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About the Contributors

Callie Thornton, Editor

Callie Thornton (12) is an editor and writer. During her first year, Thornton first thought of participating in the Aerial as a way to fill a class period, but contrary to previous intentions, realized that she had fallen in love with journalism. In her second year on the Aerial, Thornton is excited to be deeply involved in journalism again. She has hopes for more perspectives to come through the newsite, expanding outside of school to see more impacts in the community. Thornton looks forward to the new team taking the Aerial to the next level. At Atherton, Thornton participates in archery and track. Passionate about movies, film, and photography, Thornton hopes to go to college to pursue a career in film. Thornton’s top three movies are The Iron Claw, The Way Way Back, and Mid90s. In her free time, she enjoys painting, scrapbooking, listening to music, and spending time with her cat named Tom.

Lucas Selch, Photo Editor

Lucas Selch, a senior here at Atherton, is excited to get the word out about the Aerial and help it grow during his first year on staff. He plans on being a photo editor, photographer, and writer for our news. He is looking to be a photo journalist after high school, which makes him even more excited to be a part of the Aerial. Selch is also in the media arts pathway, which furthers this goal. Lucas is a very creative person, some of his biggest hobbies being music and photography. Outside of school, Selch is in two local bands, Gaia, and Sweet Easy Listening, where he plays the bass. He loves all types of rock music including punk, prog, and psyche. He has a love for Jimmy Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and occasionally Limp Bizkit. His favorite movie is 10 Things I Hate About You, being introduced to it by his girlfriend. At home, he lives with his parents, sister, two brothers, and his two huskies. Lucas plans on using his creative talents to help us expand, and is very excited for what’s to come.