Four Killeen ISD high school Junior ROTC battalions participated Saturday in the first-ever local JROTC archery tournament.

For the host Harker Heights High School Knights Battalion, the competition represented a budding tradition taking root.

Retired 1^st Sgt. Joe Flores is the JROTC instructor who spearheaded the Knights’ four-year-old archery team.

The team is accustomed to traveling to compete and this season has brought home impressive awards.

When Flores suggested to his student leadership the next step in their development could be to host an event, maybe next year, they asked him, ‘why not this year?’

He liked their spirit.

“A few years back, our motto was ‘Plant the seed,’” Flores recalled. “We’ve planted the seed and now it’s time to water it and nurture it. We’re trying to build it up as much as we can and get all the other (KISD battalions) involved.”

“It’s great to see them out here. It’s important we grow as a JROTC community as a whole,” the Knights instructor said.

Senior and Battalion Commander Isabella Melendez Rivera expressed her team’s pride in hosting the event, the result, she said, of seeds sown the past few years.

“This is my second year in archery. I’m the commander this year. I think what’s fun is it’s such a mental sport. You have to be in tune with yourself if you want to get better, and very self-aware,” she said.

“Archery teaches a lot of discipline because it’s so repetitive. That’s what I like most about this sport.”

“Personally, I started low in the 200s. In my first tournament, I shot one of the lowest scores. Then, a switch turned. I don’t like not being good at something. I started taking it seriously. A little bit goes a long way. Me and first sergeant started working every practice.”

Now, she’s a first-team All-State archer. “With the team, I see a lot more connections. It’s more fluid.”

“Today, we’re hosting our first tournament. We didn’t have a tournament nearby. With the schools starting programs this year, we wanted to provide an opportunity, so we created this Knights Invitational, and hopefully we are starting something that will continue,” she said.

“It’s so fun. I see these kids at summer camp. I see them in a lot of other settings. It’s nice to connect through one sport. It’s awesome.”

“You can take this into the classroom,” Flores said of the benefits of archery. “You learn how to focus and concentrate. You learn the little things matter. If you can master the little things here, you can master all the little things in life.”

“I think this was more important to them than it was for me,” he said. “I mentioned it as something we could do in the future. My commander said, why don’t we do it this year? They were very excited.”

The teams finished with Harker Heights in first place with 1,609 points, followed by Killeen with 1,490, Ellison with 1,379 and Shoemaker with 1,298. The top six shooters make up the team totals.

Individual results included top females Isabella Melendez Rivera with 273 points out of a possible 300, followed by Nathalia Menchaca with 268 and Aaliyah Johnson with 261. All three are Harker Heights students.

Top male finishers were Yuri Watson with 284 and Mervin Narito with 265 from Harker Heights and Jeremiah Hankins from Killeen in third with 263.

Archery competition photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720325881130

Shoemaker High School

Taking Aim at a New Archery Tradition