3 of nation’s top prep archers come from Eastern Iowa

ANAMOSA — Three of the four top prep archers in the nation hail from two Eastern Iowa towns separated by just 17 miles.

'It's pretty amazing when you think about it,' said David Machart, the 18-year-old Anamosa High School senior who scored 299 out of 300 to win the high school division and first place overall in the bull's-eye competition at the National Archery in the Schools Program national tournament last weekend in Louisville, Ky.

Machart's Anamosa teammate, classmate and friend, Trevor Wehling, 18, shot a 297 to finish second in the high school division and overall.

Right behind them with a 296 — good enough to win the middle school division and place fourth overall — was Logan Kelly, 14, an eighth-grader at Mount Vernon Middle School.

The bull's-eye competition, the main event at the national meet, attracted 12,897 archers from 41 states, with 81 Iowa archers competing.

Competitors shoot 30 arrows at a standard bull's eye target, half from 10 meters, half from 15 meters. Arrows that strike the 3-inch center ring score 10 points; arrows that land outside the center ring score progressively less depending upon their distance from the center.

Machart won two scholarships totaling $15,750, bringing his career archery scholarship earnings to $28,250. He fired a 299 in March to win his second straight Iowa title, and earlier this year became the first participant in the Iowa Afterschool National Archery in the Schools program to score a perfect 300 in a sanctioned event.

Machart said his one miss in the recent national bull's-eye competition 'was so close that a judge had to come out and rule on it.'

'That was his goal at the start of the season — to win the nationals, where he finished second last year,' said Sheila Machart, David's mother.

Wehling, who won a $2,500 scholarship, said his 297 beat his previous high score by six points. 'I just got in the zone and my arrows happened to fly about perfect,' he said.

Kelly, who won a $20,000 scholarship with a perfect score in the scholarship round, said: 'It was pretty cool. We all push each other to be the best. It just happened that we all shot our best on the same day.'

In addition to the honors and scholarships, the three won vanloads of trophies, bows, plaques and other merchandise.

All three qualified for the World Championship Tournament June 24-26 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and all three made the elite all-star team that will represent the United States in South Africa in July.

Machart and Kelly also placed second and fifth overall, respectively, in the 3D competition, which attracted 3,416 archers from 39 states including 55 Iowans.

Chad Kelly said the impact of his son's $20,000 scholarship hasn't really sunk in yet.

'We were going to be happy if he won $2,500,' he said.