ARCHERY: Local 4-H places at nationals

The Half Moon Highlanders aren’t a big group, but they carry a big punch.

The 4-H archery club from Columbia Falls measures only around a dozen members, but made its mark on the national scene with five members taking aim at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships at the end of June in Grand Island, Nebraska. It is only the second time in state history that all four members of the recurve archery team came from a single team, made even more unlikely by the small membership of the Highlanders.

The group showed its skill, finishing third as a team in recurve archery behind teams from Oklahoma and Missouri. The Montana compound archery team, which featured Columbia Falls’ Hayden Falkner, also finished third finishing behind Missouri and North Carolina.

KeAnna Weber was the team’s top finisher, finishing in sixth place in individual recurve archery. Weber was the top female finisher, finishing with an overall total of 2.73, averaging nearly 91 percent in the three disciplines that make up the event.

Kalispell’s Tristan Smith finished ninth in recurve, Miranda Lauria 12th and Ana Ramsey 42nd.

In compound archery, Hunter Johnson placed sixth, Sam Peterson 13th, Falkner 24th and Ryan Ritter 53rd.