Jillian McClanahan, June – When I was told to pick my favorite memory from this archery season, I had such a hard time just picking one. Archery is such a big part of me, so almost every memory I have with archery is positive. I have a favorite memory from each stage of archery, state competition with my whole team, then with my teammates who qualified for Nationals, and then with the final few who made it to the National Championship.
My favorite memory of the start of the season is the morning of the state competition when we all were practicing before we left. Even through the stress of the competition we all stood in a circle, kicked around a ball and talked about our goals for the day. It was so simple but looking back I’m really glad I got to have that last calm moment in the outdoor range we used at that time.
My next favorite memory is with the Nationals group. Just like every year, I love the time we all spent at the hotel on the weekend of competition. And then of course beating my (best friend/rival) by one point in Centershot, after he beat me by one point the day before at 3D . That was the icing on the cake for an awesome weekend.
And finally, the time between Nationals in Utah, and the National Championship in Daytona was really awesome. Only four of my teammates including myself qualified, so it was really nice getting to know teammates that I didn’t know as well. Bridgette is one of the teammates that I’m really glad I got to know better. Her and I being the only two girls left, have become really close and I love being able to encourage an elementary archer and help her become the best she can.
All the stages I’ve gone through with archery this season have been amazing. From almost 50 archers, and then to only four I have cherished it all and have fun every step of the way.