Seven Milford archers were named to the first Nebraska Archery in the Schools Program All-State team, with an additional three earning honorable mention.
“These archers were nominated by coaches as meeting the requirements of this new distinction. This being the inaugural year there were a good number of nominees and we only expect this to grow in coming years as everyone becomes familiar with it,” said Aaron Hershberger of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Milford’s Allie Gerdes, Sydney Havlat, Natalie Nutzman, Ayla Salistean and Autumn Wissenburg were among 12 across the state named to the girls’ team, and Dane Kolb and Jay Wissenburg were among the 12 on the boys’ team.
Jenna Wolf, Zephyr Mowinkel and Chris Wissenburg received honorable mention.
To be considered for the team, archers must have participated in at least three in-person NASP bullseye shooting events during the school year, including the state tournament, be nominated by an archery coach or instructor and be in good standing with their team and school.
Hershberger said in addition to nominating their own students, some coaches went above and beyond to nominate archers from other schools as well.
“Every year we have outstanding ladies and gentlemen who have had tremendous seasons but just fall short at the state shoot of being a state champion,” said Milford Archery Coach Jim Wissenburg. “Obviously at state there is only one winner, and we wanted a way to give credit to those kids who excelled in our sport during the season.”
A NASP team score is based on 12 archers’ scores. The all-state team takes into account the state tournament score plus an archer’s next two highest scores from the regular season.
“I am very excited for the program and feel that it really served its goal this year,” Wissenburg said. “If we had 12 state shoots back-to-back we could easily have had seven to eight different state champions from this group of ladies, and the boys division wasn't much different.”
He said offering the all-state program is another way to credit students at the end of their season – especially seniors concluding their high school archery careers.
Wissenburg said seeing seven first team members and three honorable mentions is an exceptional feat.
“It is a testament to our program’s hard work and dedication. It is hard to believe how much our program has grown,” he said. “It takes everyone, and we truly appreciate the Milford Public Schools system and the community of Milford for supporting our program. This kind of support doesn’t happen everywhere, which is why Milford is such a special place.”
