Sarah Myers, a Portersville Christian School student, lines up on of her scored shots from 10 meters at the school’s state qualifying archery tournament on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the school in Muddy Creek Township. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

MUDDY CREEK TWP — The soft “thwock, thwock, thwock” sound of arrows hitting targets filled the gymnasium at Portersville Christian School on Saturday, Feb. 18.

It was the second day of the eighth annual Portersville Christian School State Qualifying Archery Tournament at the school, 343 E. Portersville Road. There were 376 contestants from 36 schools competing for a chance to qualify for the 2023 Pennsylvania National Archery in Schools Program State Tournament on March 24 in Manheim, Lancaster County.

The tournament kicked off Friday night and continued from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Teams and individuals were ranked according to the results of a flight of 30 arrows, launched from distances of 10 meters and 15 meters from the target.

Archers from fourth through 12th grade, divided into elementary, middle and high school categories, shot five arrows at a time called an end, at their targets and then tallied the results.