Owensboro Archery Club’s Caleb Poe signed with University of the Cumberlands to continue his archery and academic career. Poe recently competed in the S3DA Nationals with OAC where he and the team were crowned National Champions.
Poe earned the title of National Champion of the Young Adult Pins Class at Nationals as an individual and helped OAC earn their national title in the Young Adult division. The team shot a perfect score of 1500 points. The team placed 4th in both the Youth and Eagle divisions and 6th in the Jr. Eagle division as well.
Seeing his hard work payoff as he takes his talents to the next level is very rewarding, he said. Cumberlands has always been in his sights as their program has been revered by those around since he began competing.
“Since I’ve started shooting competitive archery, everyone’s always talked about Cumberlands being one of the top programs in collegiate archery,” he said. “During my visit I fell in love with the school and program. The unity that the team shows and the effort the coaches put into the archers, not only in archery but also in life, is incredible. As soon as I saw the campus and the way the program operated, I knew I wanted to be a patriot.”
While enrolled at the college, Poe will be pursuing an engineering degree with a minor in organizational leadership. He’s also excited about venturing out on his own but takes solace in knowing that home is just a couple of hours away, he said. Poe isn’t finished with his time at OAC just yet as he will use his remaining time as preparation for his college career. The high-stakes tournaments that OAC competes in has been great experience for Poe, and he said that the team has prepared him for even the most nerve-racking of situations.
“I think OAC coaches really try to help prepare us for the nerve-racking, high-pressure situations in target archery,” he said. “Their efforts have not only helped us succeed on the national stage, but also in preparing us for similar situations that come throughout life.”
Although his college days haven’t started just yet, Poe reflected on what he will miss the most about high school archery.
“I’ll definitely miss the practices, traveling, and tournaments with my OAC family,” he said. “I’ll miss the 11 and 12:00 late night practices where we order pizza to the archery building. But what I’ll miss the most is our high school team going out to Mi Ranchito, our local Mexican restaurant, for supper after practices.”
