Sixth grader Jack Frey earns national first-place finish competing with the Alburnett Archery team

ALBURNETT, Iowa (KCRG) - Jack Frey thrives in competition, winning first place amongst 925 boys at NASP Western Nationals last month.

“There was a lot of people there, it was kind of intimidating,” Frey said. “(I) just get better every tournament.”

Jack learned bow hunting from his parents, but only started shooting competively two years ago.

“I was probably more nervous than he was. He was just up there doing his thing his was in the groove,” Frey’s father Jake said. “He’s pretty dedicated in whatever he does, he’s willing to put in the work to get better.”

Even more impressive than just winning nationals, jack had to fight through a broken right hand leading up to the tournament.

“He actually switched from (shooting with) his right hand to his left hand, and continued to shoot really well,” said his coach Aaron Ford. “Three days before state he actually was able to get the cast off, switch back to his right hand, and then shot that incredibly well.”

Jack is part of an incredible archery team at Alburnett. As a collective, they came in fifth in the bullseye compeition and third in the 3-D competition at nationals.

“For the size of our school having 115 kids in archery is great,” said Ford. “It’s continued to grow.

The team will head down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to compete at the world championships.

“Incredibly proud of the team the amount of effort they put in is fantastic<’ said Ford. “We continue to be super excited.”

The team is crowdfunding to help offset travel costs, as they head to South Carolina.

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