Pelion is similar to a typical South Carolina small town, but one thing separates it from the rest. It is home to one of the best young archery programs in the country.

The Pelion Middle and Elementary School archery teams put their skills on display earlier this month by winning national championships in IBO 3D shooting and finishing third in bullseye shooting. The team is now preparing to conquer the globe, with world champions set to take place in West Virginia from Aug. 7-10.

“I’m just really in awe,” Pelion Middle School coach Larry Poole said. “I was talking with my wife on the way back, and it just hit me. I said ‘Can you believe the success that Pelion, little old tiny Pelion, out in the middle of nowhere, South Carolina, are national champions? … who would have ever thought?’”

It was the first national championship for the middle school team, coming just three seasons into its existence. The elementary school team has been around longer and won on both the national and world stages in 2022.

“I had seen the success that they had, the elementary team. At the middle school level, us being only a third-year program, I knew we could possibly get there. I just didn’t know how quick we could get there,” Poole said. “As we started shooting in local tournaments this year, we started throwing up some big numbers.”

Pelion was the only elementary or middle school team in the state to qualify for the national championships. The program was built from the ground up and relies on the dedication of its members to stay competitive every year.

Many members of the 2022 world championship elementary team have improved their skills and are now part of this national championship-winning middle school team.

“The kids are just phenomenal. They come to us already with that foundation from the elementary school,” Poole said. “I’ll be honest, I just try not to screw them up.”

The middle and elementary teams earned both their championships thanks to a balanced effort. One archer’s score did not carry the team to victory. It took strong performances up and down the board.

Delilah Williams was the highest-scoring athlete on the team and finished ninth overall in the middle school division. She had the third-highest score for middle school girls and the highest for a sixth-grade girl.

Claire Hartley finished two points behind Williams for seventh place in the middle school girls standings and had the third-highest sixth-grade girl score. Brycen Lee, Cooper Hartley and Madelyn Maroney also put up big numbers for Pelion.

“You go back to the last three tournaments that we shot, the state, the eastern and now the Open Championship, our IBO score was better each and every time,” Poole said. “Every time we shot, we shot a new school record. So, for us to do that, as a coach, that’s all you want to see. Go out, shoot your best, and then let everything fall as it may.”

In the elementary division, Laycee Morphy, Micayla Strickland and Karlee Kneece had top-10 girls finishes. Liam O’Neill and Hunter Dawson stood out amongst the boys placing in the top 25.

The next step for the team is to focus on training for the world championships. One key difference between previous tournaments and the world championships is worlds are outside, meaning weather plays a huge factor.

That’s why for the next few weeks, the team will move practice outdoors, overcome the summer South Carolina heat and train for whatever conditions may arise on competition day,

“Who knows what the weather’s going to be like. If it’s windy, we still have to shoot. If it’s sunny, we shoot. If it’s rainy, we still shoot,” Poole said. “In South Carolina, it’s going to be hot. Guess what, we’re going to shoot outside, at night, as long as it’s not thundering and lightning and we don’t have to take shelter. It’s a little rainy outside or whatever, we’re practicing.”

Regardless of how the team performs at the worldwide tournament, Poole is proud of the growth the middle school team experienced in 2024. He sees the value in the sport, and while he knows not all kids will stick with it, he hopes the success will eventually reach the high school, which competed for the first time this year.

When asked what makes Pelion such a hotbed for young archers, Poole said he had no idea. He eventually chalked it up to the commitment from the players, parents and coaches.

“I honestly can’t put my finger on it,” Poole said. “But it’s something that from the time they started the program at elementary school, a bunch of kids and their parents bought in totally to it, and it’s just continuing and continuing.”