White, Behling are champions in virtual state archery shoot

Five members of the Medford Archery Club participated and earned high placements in a virtual state competition, which provided an opportunity for Wisconsin’s youth archers to fill the gap left by the March cancellation of the annual in-person state event in Wisconsin Dells.

The five Raider archers were among 148 archers who took part in the virtual event.

Fifth graders Nathaniel White and Hank Paul took first and second place in their grade level and were the top two finishers in the boys elementary division, which covers fourth and fifth grade. White earned a score of 276 out of a possible 300, while Paul came in at 256 to top the field of 15 fifth-grade boys and 20 boys in the division. Paul was six points ahead of third-place finisher Nathan Cordes of Stratford.

Sixth grader Ashton Behling was the top male in his grade with a score of 282 and he tied for first place in the middle school division, which consists of grades 6-8. There were nine sixth-grade boys and 36 boys overall in the division. Behling tied with Cadott eighth grader Adan Everson, while seventh graders Garett Drexler and Derek Wiese of Stratford tied for third with scores of 280 and eighth graders Colin Dallman of Owen-Withee and Nathan Cleveland of Rice Lake tied for fifth at 279.

Kirsten Weix placed second among 13 ninth-grade girls and third out of 33 female high school archers with her score of 290. She also was third overall among 77 girls. Weix finished three points behind fellow freshman and overall champion LaRhea Christenson of Cadott. Portage junior Lily Coddington placed second at 291. Weix was seven points ahead of fourth-place finisher Angel Hladilek, a freshman from Cadott.

With a 234, Kadence Weix finished fifth out of 12 fifth grade girls and seventh overall out of 19 participants in the elementary division. She was just six points away from a top-five finish in the division, which was won by Stratford fourth grader Jayelynn Shanks. Shanks totaled 261 points in her 30 shots. Owen-Withee fifth grader Ashlynn Thornton was second at 251 and Stratford fifth grader Madelyn Berdan was third at 246.

The top score among all 148 archers was a 298 recorded by Cadott senior Kaden Christenson. Portage eighth grader Ashlynn Clark shot a 295 for the top female score overall.