Lenon Hodge, a 10 year old student at Hurricane Town Elementary School, has qualified for the 2021 NASP World Archery Championship. Hodge qualified for the World Championship by finishing in the top 100 in the United States in the NASP National Tournament.
The National Tournament was held virtually this Spring. Hodge took second place in the state of West Virginia in the National Tournament and he took 54th place in the United States among the elementary division. A record 15,683 archers from 1,053 schools competed in the 2021 Nationals.
Hodge began shooting a bow in the 2019-2020 school year by participating in the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP). In early 2020, he won the West Virginia State Tournament by taking 1st place among all elementary students. Hodge and his team brought the very first championship archery trophy to his school. In February 2020, Hodge took 1st place in the Cabell Midland Archery Invitational. Additionally, he took 1st place in the West Virginia State University Archery Invitational and 3rd place in the Elkview Middle School Archery Tournament held at Marshall University in 2020. Hodge has two other top ten tournament finishes.
“God always has a plan to turn bad things into good,” Hodge said. “For example, last year we were not able to shoot for Nationals because of Covid. But this year, I shot at Nationals and did well which qualified me for the World Championship. God also gave me a wonderful coach named Justin Brooks. He has done an awesome job guiding me through my archery career. I am really excited to go to Myrtle Beach for the championship,” Hodge concluded.
Lenon’s parents, Tony and Jessica Hodge are very excited for him as well. “We are so incredibly proud of Lenon’s hard work and accomplishments. God has blessed him with an amazing talent and we can’t wait to watch him use his gift on the world stage,” said Jessica Hodge.
The NASP World Championship will take place June 10-12 in Myrtle Beach, SC. Hodge is planning his trip now and is expected to be joined by his coach.
