Archery team grows in community during first competition of the season
10/29/2025 11:00:00 AM | Archery
The Flames and Lady Flames placed 17th out of 35 colleges and universities in Foley, Ala.
 Liberty University's archery team traveled to Foley, Ala., to compete in the USA Archery 3D National Championships Oct. 2-4.  Â
"This year it went a lot smoother than last year," Head Coach Jason Lynch said. "Last year we had a lot of weather issues, but this year, fortunately, we had beautiful weather. It was a really good competition."Â Â
Liberty ultimately finished 17th, just behind Southeastern Illinois College.  Â
Junior Kayla Cassady paced the squad with a strong performance in the barebow college women's event, placing fifth.Â
Freshman Emily Housepian placed 21st in the women's compound competition with fellow Lady Flame sophomore Rylee Poullath earning 47th. Flames freshman Samuel Hunter brought home a 24th-place finish in the recurve college men's competition.Â
Despite the challenges the Flames and Lady Flames saw in Foley, the competition still brought the opportunity to learn and grow in the team community.  Â
"I have a younger team this year, so for a lot of people it was just getting them used to the competition format, going out, having a good time, and learning, and we definitely accomplished that," Lynch said. "(This event is) also one of our best events of the year for team building and fellowship because it's such a long event, so definitely some wins there."Â
 Full results are available online.
The team now looks forward to the 56th Annual USA Archery Indoor National Championships in the spring, with the regional shoot beginning Feb. 27 and concluding March 1 in Harrisonburg, Va. Â
By Amory Doyle/Student Writer
