The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) announced Tuesday, March 19, that nine Putnam County schools have qualified for the annual West Virginia Archery in the Schools State Tournament, which is scheduled to take place at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Saturday, March 30. This year’s tournament will mark the 20th anniversary of the Archery in the Schools program.

“We are excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of West Virginia’s Archery in the Schools program this year and hope everyone comes out to the state tournament to cheer on these students,” said WVDNR Director Brett McMillion.

Nearly 1,500 students from 87 West Virginia schools participated in the state qualifier earlier this year. Of those participants, only the top eight teams, top 15 individual boys and top 15 individual girls from elementary, middle and high school qualified to participate in the state tournament.

Students and/or teams from the following Putnam schools qualified: Conner Street Elementary, Hurricane High, Hurricane Middle, Lakeside Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, Poca Middle, West Teays Elementary, Winfield High, and Winfield Middle.

“We want to congratulate these schools and the students who worked hard to make it to the state tournament this year,” said Chris Scraggs, Archery in the Schools program coordinator for the WVDNR. “Twenty years is a milestone, so I’d also like to thank all of the coaches, volunteers, conservation and educational organizations around our great state for helping make this fantastic program possible year after year.”

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and watch some of the state’s best student archers as they compete for top honors. The admission fee to watch the tournament is $5 for adults 18 and older, $3 for children 6–17. Children younger than 6 get in free. Tickets will be available at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Box Office.