Archery club gives students new opportunity
By Nathaniel Underwood
Those that have walked by the Colby Middle School gymnasium in the early morning hours may have noticed that a new sporting opportunity has opened up for Colby students this school year. The sound of arrows whistling through the air, the distinctive thuds as they find their target, and the chattering of a field of archers now fill the gym as members of the newly formed Colby archery club hone their aim.
Getting the team up and running has been a project several years in the making. Those efforts finally came to fruition as the club began its practices and started to compete in tournaments in December.
The new club, which is open to those in grades four through 12, gives students an opportunity to hone a new hobby and allows those who may not be interested in other winter sports another option.
“The reason why we got involved is that, while we hunt, this is a great opportunity to offer it to other kids, especially those who aren’t in other sports during this time,” head coach Allison Unterschuetz said. “It’s a nice skill, a lifetime skill.”
Unterschuetz, whose children were part of the archery club in Thorp before the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) changed standards so that students can only compete for the school they attend, has been working with the school to get the club up and running over the past few years. Familiar with the format from the family’s time with the Thorp club and seeing a hole in Colby’s own offerings, she wanted to bring those opportunities to students in the Colby school district.
As part of the program, a new archery curriculum has been integrated into Colby’s physical education department’s classes, but the club takes things a step further than the basics that are taught in the classes. While the classes give students an introduction to the sport, the club offers a deeper dive into the techniques and gives them an opportunity to compete in competitions. The team currently competes in bullseye and 3D competitions.
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2024-25 COLBY ARCHERY CLUB - The newly formed Colby archery club is pictured above at their final team tournament of the season in Stratford last Friday. They are, in the back row from left to right, Drew Smith, Mia Rau, Ella Raatz, Jacob Raatz, Rhys Rau, and Collin Rau. In the middle row, from left to right, are Meg Smith, George Rau, Ellen Sazama, Logan O’Donnell, and Levi Schjoneman. In the front row, from left to right, are Jade Wozniak, Will Smith, Ramsey Schjoneman, and John Hannula. The club is coached by Allison Unterschuetz.
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TAKING AIM - The members of the Colby archery club line up their opening volley at their last practice before their final team tourney in Stratford.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby archery
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While the school is able to provide some assistance by allowing gym access, targets and some bows, the club still needed additional funding to get off the ground. Most area teams raise funds by running tournaments, but without the resources to do so in Colby for now, Unterschuetz got some additional help from local businesses like Loos Machine, Abbybank Foundation, Smith Brothers, Central Wisconsin Fur, Fin & Feather and Abbotsford Appliance.
The Hornets just wrapped their inaugural regular season with its final team tournament this past Friday in Stratford.
There were eight new personal bests set in Stratford. In the bullseye competition, Ella Raatz led the high school squad with a PR score of 258. Rhys Rau put up a score of 254, Jacob Raatz scored a 245 and Collin Rau shot a 217.
Mia Rau led all Hornets with a score of 274, placing her 10th out of 97 middle school girls while Logan O’Donnell and Meg Smith both had personal bests with scores of 241 and 233. Drew Smith rounded out the middle school squad with a score of 219.
Ramsey Schjoneman and Will Smith both PR’d for the elementary team. Schjoneman placed 20th out of 75 elementary boys with a score of 233 while Smith had his best performance of the year with a score of 193. Jade Wozniak had a score of 191, George Rau shot a 184, Levi Schjoneman had a score of 179, Ellen Sazama put together a personal best with a score of 163 and John Hannula shot a 150.
In the 3D target competition, Jacob Raatz and Rhys Rau had PRs with scores of 260 and 249 respectively. Ella Raatz finished with a score of 248 and Collin Rau shot a 217. Mia Rau was the only middle school archer to shoot in the 3D competition, taking 15th out of 61 middle school girls with a score of 258.
It has been a year filled with learning and improvement and while some have had prior experience from being a part of clubs from other schools, many of the athletes competed in tournaments for the first time this year.
“I’m super proud of these kids,” Unterschuetz said. “In phy ed, they’re just learning the safety. But here, every practice we Perspectives
are working on technique, we are working on aiming points. If you look at the scores, you can see everybody is significantly improving every week, which is huge for me. I’m super happy that they are improving and that they are having fun. And that’s the bottom line is having fun.”
Eight archers from the Colby squad, Jade Wozniak, John Hannula, Jacob Raatz, Ella Raatz, Collin Rau, Rhys Rau, Mia Rau and George Rau will be competing at the Wisconsin NASP State Archery tournament on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 in Wisconsin Rapids. They will then have a chance to qualify for nationals, which will be held May 8-10 in Louisville, Kentucky.
CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT - Coach Allison Unterschuetz gives out some helpful hints, above, while Jacob Raatz, left, and Drew Smith, right, line up their sights on the targets down range.
STAFF PHOTOS/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
