Archery Team at Mississippi College Achieves Success at National Tournament

Mississippi College archery standout Parker Battista excelled at last weekend’s national collegiate tournament near Gainesville, Florida where he finished No. 2 in the USA.

Ranking second best among the male bow hunters competing is an awesome achievement for Battista. But the incoming MC junior also stays on target as an exceptional student, said coach Waldo Cleland.

A business administration major from Canton, Ohio, Battista left the tournament receiving an All American designation and Academic All American honors.

“He’s our anchor,” Cleland says of Parker. The MC star should see his game improve to the point where he should compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic archery team in 2020, the coach added.

Parker stays focused on his performance at tournaments, and has improved his mental game this season. While some archers complained about weather conditions, brisk winds didn’t bother Parker one bit at the nationals in Central Florida, Cleland noted.

Parker and MC teammates showed off their bow skills at the May event at the U.S. Olympic Team Training Center near the University of Florida. They faced outstanding archers from bigger schools like Michigan State, Stanford, Georgia Southern, Texas A&M, and the University of Florida. A total of 144 collegiate archers participated.

Mississippi College’s women’s team also scored high at the nationals. Jessica Jasper, a church music major from Brandon, Lauren Demuth, a kinesiology major from Raymond, and Norkesia McGloster, a pre-nursing major from Gastonia, North Carolina, finished third nationwide. Their solid performance earned them a bronze medal.

Overall, the MC team “did much better than expected,” Cleland said on the Clinton campus Tuesday. “They are devoted to the sport.”

Other leaders saluted their achievements.

“We are proud of our students and their accomplishments in their first year competing in collegiate archery,” says Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and dean of students. “This was a great first year and MC plans to build on this success.”

Mississippi College made history as the first college in the Magnolia State to launch an archery team last fall. Since then, schools like Mississippi State University, William Carey University and Mississippi Valley State University have fielded archery teams.

Turcotte, who oversees outdoor sports such as archery, equestrian, bass fishing and clay shooting at the 5,000-student university, applauds Coach Cleland for taking the MC archers so far. “You are to be highly commended for taking a first-year team and coaching them to national prominence. Your dedication and time made all the difference.”

Mississippi College’s team also brought home three new archer or rookie awards, while Lauren Demuth finished 8^th in the nation in the women’s division.

A former USA archery champion, Cleland can’t wait to see Mississippi College begin its second season. Practice begins immediately after students begin fall classes in late August. There are 26 members on the MC team. Typically only five students travel to tournaments.

Archery remains a fast-growing sport nationwide, with USA teams dominating the Olympic games for years. Mississippi counts itself among America’s hotbeds for bow hunters. Today, there are 421 Mississippi high schools fielding archery teams. The group includes: Pearl High School, Northwest Rankin, Warren Central, and Jackson Academy.

For more information, contact Jim Turcotte at 601-925-3315 or turcotte@mc.edu