Precision prevails at AGA Nationals

A total of 150 archers from across the country took to the range at the 11th African Genesis Archery (AGA) Namibia Nationals.

Recently held at Independence Stadium in Windhoek, the event saw the season’s leading archers rewarded for their precision.

Junior and senior archers, as well as competitors outside the school system in the Adult Archery Group (AAG), competed across the Bullseye and Animal Target rounds.

The junior and senior competitions were contested out of a maximum score of 1 200, while AAG competitors aimed for a maximum of 900.

The third-last event on the calendar saw Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout of Windhoek Afrikaans Private School (Wap) step to the fore in the senior boys section with a score of 1 158 to claim the national crown.

Hot on his heels was schoolmate Willem van der Merwe in second place with 1 155, while Pro-Ed Academy’s JP Kohne finished third on 1 130.

Bezuidenhout and Delron Gaoseb also set new senior boys and AAG 3D/Animal Target Round records of 290 and 287, respectively.

In the senior girls division, Zeanette Jacobs of Windhoek High School (WHS) scored 1 135 to be crowned national champion.

She finished ahead of Jorine Krugel of Roots Gymnasium in second place on 1 131 and Central Elite Archery Club’s (CEAC) Elysia Wildgen in third with 1 115.

Junior champions

The junior division also produced several standout performances.

Boys: 1 Berend Blom (Moria) 1 107; 2 Keon Koorts (Moria) 1 098; 3 Ben Rothkegel (CEAC) 1 084.

Girls: 1 Charisme Rothen (Pro-Ed) 1 098; 2 Jeandrie van der Merwe (Wap) 1 089; 3 Donaline Pieterson (Community Hope School, CHS) 1 067.

AAG champions

Men: 1 Delron Gaoseb (Wap) 864; 2 Cruzeiro Garobeb (CHS) 851; 3 Berend Blom (Moria) 847.

Women: 1 Marionette de Waal (Walvis Bay Private School, WBPS) 846; 2 Alyssa van Zijl (Pro-Ed) 829; 3 Ronelle Raes (Moria) 823.

League champions

In the schools league, where the top four archers from each participating school combined their scores to determine the overall champion, Wap took the senior division ahead of WHS in second place and CEAC in third.

Moria won the junior division, followed by Wap and CHS.

Other national honours

The nationals also recognised consistency across the season, with Van der Merwe crowned Golden Boy after collecting 12 gold medals, while Krugel earned the Golden Girl honour with a season-high 20.

Van der Merwe also finished as the leader of Namibia’s overall rankings and was named the top-performing boys’ archer, while Jacobs received the corresponding girls’ honour.

Wap was named the top-performing school in the senior division, with Moria taking the junior honours.

The Most Improved Archer awards went to Jacques van Wyk of Roots in the boys’ section and Zanel Louw of Danie Joubert Combined School among the girls.

‘Love of archery’

Event organiser and AGA chairperson Madelyn Kruger was pleased with how the nationals unfolded.

“Independence Stadium was filled with nerves, excitement, determination and incredible sportsmanship. There were some tough battles, personal bests, tears, smiles and plenty of proud moments,” she said.

Kruger said the archers represented their schools with pride while supporting one another on the range.

“It was a challenging but unforgettable day, [which turned out to be a] wonderful reminder of what teamwork, dedication and love of archery can achieve.

“Congratulations to every archer, coach, official, parent and volunteer who made [it] a success!”

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