Mississippi College Archers Finish Strong During Highly Competitive Spring Season

Emelia Miceli, who had not shot a regular compound bow until she came to Mississippi College, was the last archer from Mississippi remaining in the women's head-to-head shootdown at the 2023 USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals.

Outstanding shooting performances by a pair of Choctaw toxophilites during collegiate indoor and outdoor tournaments propelled the Mississippi College Archery Team to new distances during the spring season.

After challenging starts in their respective showcases, MC freshman Ricky Tebo and MC junior Emilia Miceli each proved the adage, “It’s not where you start, but where you finish.”

Tebo flirted with perfection while battling a sudden illness during the first two rounds of the men’s compound division in the Vegas Shoot, the largest and most prestigious indoor archery tournament in the world, Feb. 2-5 in Nevada. Tebo dropped only nine points of a possible 600, setting the stage for a masterful performance on the final day.

His illness finally vanquished, Tebo shot a 300 on his third frame, becoming the first MC archer in recent memory to accomplish a perfect score in an indoor tournament.

“He was prepared to shoot three 300s for this tournament,” MC Archery head coach John McDonald said. “The first two days’ results are counted towards your collegiate score, and on the third day, all of the archers are ranked into flights.

“His performance allowed him to come out second overall in his flight.”

Another Mississippi College archer made the Vegas Shoot podium as well. Miceli finished in third place among collegiate archers in the women’s bowhunter category. The impressive performance proved to be only the beginning of her stellar spring season.

During the 2023 USA Archery Collegiate Target Regionals at William Carey University in Hattiesburg April 5, Miceli captured first place in the women’s division, while she and MC Archery teammate Isakiel Griffin finished second in the mixed team category. During the Mississippi Indoor State Collegiate Championship at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Archery Center in Jackson, Miceli claimed first place in the women’s bowhunter category.

She saved her most impressive performance for the final outdoor tournament. Equipment issues at the 2023 USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals at the Georgia Southern University Sports Education Center May 18-21 saw the highly touted shooter tumble to a 38th ranking. In the head-to-head shootdown on the final day – a one-on-one elimination matchup – Miceli defeated competitor after competitor until she was the last archer from Mississippi remaining.

Miceli continued eliminating opponents before finally succumbing, finishing fourth in the tournament – a far cry from where she had started.

“Emilia works very hard to be the best she can be at whatever she does,” McDonald said. “She works hard at her studies to become a nurse, and she works hard with her archery. She had never shot a regular compound bow until she came to Mississippi College.

“In three years, she went from zero to fourth nationally.”

As a group, MC’s archers made significant strides during the spring, with several individuals posting impressive finishes. During the Lancaster Archery Classic Jan. 26-29 in Pennsylvania – the largest indoor archery tournament on the East Coast – MC senior Lexi Harris climbed the podium at a major event for the first time, finishing third in the women’s recurve bare-bow category.

“She was ecstatic,” McDonald said. “All of our archers shot well for the first tournament of the semester. They all shot even better as they moved on in the next couple of tournaments. They all had a strong start.”

MC senior Brianna Wigley finished in fourth place in the women’s bow hunter division at the Lancaster shoot – her best finish in a major tournament – while MC sophomore Ann Mabry Dean finished in fifth place in the category. Tebo notched a fourth-place slot in the men’s compound division, the most competitive of the tournament, according to McDonald.

Abigail Veidmark took first place in the women’s compound open division at the Mississippi Indoor State Collegiate Championship, while Amy Snyder finished in fifth. In the men’s compound open division, Tebo captured third place, Ben Spears fourth, and Dalton Moore fifth.

“Ricky started the season out strong,” McDonald said, ”and as he went through the year, he got stronger and stronger. As he’s moved from shooting in the youth divisions into the adult divisions, he’s become a much better shooter. He shoots 100 to 150 arrows a day for five days a week to maintain his edge.”

Harris added to her impressive career credentials by winning the women’s barebow division championship.

“Lexi has gradually become a strong shooter,” McDonald said. “From the day Lexi started shooting for Mississippi College, she has constantly and consistently gotten better and better until she’s become the collegiate shooter to beat in Mississippi.”

In addition to Miceli’s first-place finish in the women’s bow hunter division, Ann Mabry finished in second place. On the men’s bow hunter side, Griffin took third place, and Josh Griffin finished in fourth.

McDonald’s charges are already preparing for the fall season. He expects to welcome somewhere between 28 and 32 archers for 2023-24 – the largest number of shooters he has coached at MC – including a bevy of freshman recruits.

“We’re going to have a few seasoned veterans back, and we’ll have a lot of rookies,” he said. “The freshmen will have to change over to shooting on different equipment than what they’re used to – just like Emilia had to do three years ago.

“The ones who put in the practice time should be successful.”

The youngsters won’t have much time to hone their skills. MC Archery will host the USA 3-D Regional Tournament at Traceway Park in September. McDonald said he looks forward to welcoming about 80 collegiate archers to Clinton for the event.

“We should have participating colleges from Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and possibly Missouri and Tennessee,” he said. “It will be a great opportunity to show off our campus, and it’s a tremendous honor to be able to host the tournament.”