Lancaster County 4-H member Lilly Hanley recently participated in the 2022 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships held June 26–July 1 in Grand Island at the Heartland Public Shooting Park. The event was hosted by Nebraska 4-H. Youth from 39 states attended!
Lilly qualified to participate on the Nebraska team for Compound Archery. Only four participants per discipline from each state are able to go, and youth may participate only once per division.
She says, “I have been part of 4-H shooting sports since I was 8. I started in BB gun and started archery at the age of 10. From the beginning, I have worked hard and enjoyed every minute of this sport. This year, my hard work paid off when I qualified for 4-H nationals. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. At nationals, you have many opportunities to meet kids from other states participating in all different disciplines. One fun tradition is trading pins or other souvenirs. Many kids try to get all the states that participate. I made friends from other states and got to learn more about shooting sports. This year was a challenging time, as the wind blew 25–30 mph on all days but Day 3. On Day 3, we walked around a large, almost 1 mile course with 30 targets at unknown distances in real world scenarios. I really enjoyed my time at nationals. I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate. I encourage other kids in shooting sports to shoot for this goal.”
Her individual results at nationals:
• FITA 580 with 3 X’s 73rd out of 113
• Field 178 with 3 X’s 93rd out of 113
• 3D 166 with 2 X’s 94th out of 113
• Overall 96 out of 113