DSHS student wins national archery competition

Dripping Springs High School senior Natalie Hong won first place in the U21 recurve division at the 2022 JOAD National Target Championship last month.

The competition took place in Decatur, AL from July 20–24. After two days of qualification, archers went head-to-head in individual elimination matches leading to the crowning of the National Champions.

Hong seeded sixth in the qualifications, but advanced through the elimination round to land herself in the gold medal match against Grace Lum where she won 6-5.

“I kept shooting my best shots and I was patient because I knew it was going to be a marathon,” Hong told USA Archery. “I kept telling myself that at the end of the day, the best shooter would finish on top.”

Hong is currently a member of the 2022 United States Archery Team in the U18 (Cadet) recurve division.

To participate in the 2022 JOAD Target Nationals, archers must be members of USA Archery and be U.S. Citizens or be eligible to compete for the U.S. per World Archery rules.

Junior Olympic Archery Development, or JOAD, is a program of USA Archery that offers barebow, recurve and compound archers the opportunity to learn range safety and proper shooting technique in an environment that fosters focus, increased self-confidence and team-building skills. JOAD is open to any youth archer aged 8 to 20.