Troy Elementary fifth grade archer Mary Stoltze competed at the National Archery in the Schools Program Nationals in Louisville, Ky. May 10. She represented Charles Henderson along with Gracie Sneed.

“I am extremely proud of their work ethic,” head archer coach Forrest Lee said. “Their hard work, practice and focus paid off.”

Stoltze is 11-years-old and placed 119 out of 1219 in the elementary girls category. Her overall rank against girls was 1231 out of 4709. She also ranked 94 out of 725 fifth grade girls.

Stoltze and Sneed are the first two archers in eight years to compete at Nationals. There are previous teams that finished second and fifth nationally.

A record 10,800 archers registered for the event.

The competition lasted two days and contestants shot 30 arrows. Fifteen arrows were shot at 10 meters then the other at 15 meters. The highest an archer can score is 300. Stoltze scored a 264.

“I hope she continues archery it is a unique sport for both girls and boys,” Lee said.

He said the event is a lifetime memory for her and hopes she continues the sport throughout middle school and high school.

The 2014 NASP® National Tournament concludes with 10,443 student archers setting a new Guinness World Record.

The event breaks its own record of 9,426 established last year. These 4th-12th graders represent 665 schools in 39 states.