ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Less than 10 days away from the Meijer State Games and this year bring along a new sport that’s aimed at the targets, quite literally.
“Life can be boring if you don’t have experiences,” said Randall Wellings, co-owner of Straight Line Archery, but his story with the bow populates more than just the Upper Great Lakes. “I raced motorcycles for about 15 years, decided it’s time to give it away cause the kids were all getting a little bit big and I always had a bow, so I picked up a bow and decided to get serious in competition,” continued Wellings.
Randall and his wife Shelley Saxwold have since become champions winning multiple national titles in archery (pictured below), and they both noted that the sense of self-competition is what got them laser-focused on the bow. “I’m somewhat highly competitive, everybody likes to win nobody likes to lose but what I like about archery is it’s wholly and solely based around your talent,” commented Saxwold.
After years of experience and hosting their tournaments, Straight Line Archery will be hosting a tournament included in the Meijer State Games competition.
“It was kind of interesting that they called seeing how its a winter state games but they were interested in having a place that included archery,” continued Saxwold.
Competitors will be able to shoot the full length of the range, with various 3D targets like bats, deer, and even a frog (pictured below). “We have a 3D frog, you wouldn’t wanna meet him in the bush,” continued Wellings.
Owners noted that because archery is a sport that focuses on multiple areas of form, you could be a 5-time world champion and still have an off day or you could be a beginner archer and win state or national competitions.
WZMQ 19 is once again the official television station of the Meijer State Games, and you can watch a special newscast before the opening ceremonies on Friday, February 9th at 6 PM.
