Highland Park Archers Shine at Texas NASP State Tournament

Highland Park’s archery program made its presence known in San Antonio last weekend, with Raider competitors from both the middle school and high school levels turning in strong performances at the Texas National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament.

The Highland Park Middle School team finished sixth overall in the state competition, a result that reflects steady program development and serious individual talent. Leading the charge was eighth-grader Everett Heis, who posted 285 points to claim first place out of 639 middle school competitors in the division. That finish deserves a second read: first out of 639. In a field that large, at the state level, that kind of performance is exceptional by any measure.

The National Archery in the Schools Program, known as NASP, has grown into one of the most widespread school-based shooting sports programs in the country. Students compete using compound bows in a standardized format, shooting at targets from distances of 10 and 15 meters. The program emphasizes focus, discipline, and consistency under pressure. Those are qualities that don’t always show up on traditional athletic highlight reels, but they matter enormously in competition.

For a neighborhood school to place sixth in the state while simultaneously producing the top individual scorer in a division of nearly 640 athletes says something about how seriously Highland Park has built out this program. Archery doesn’t get the Friday night lights treatment. There are no packed stands, no marching bands, no halftime shows. The sport rewards quiet preparation and mental toughness, and the results in San Antonio suggest the Raiders have both.

The broader context here matters for Preston Hollow and the Park Cities community. Parents and administrators sometimes overlook shooting sports in favor of football, basketball, and soccer, the programs with the loudest institutional footprints. But NASP participation numbers have climbed consistently across Texas, and programs like Highland Park’s demonstrate what investment in less traditional athletics can produce.

Heis’s individual performance is worth lingering on. Finishing first in a field of 639 is not a rounding error or a stroke of luck. That score reflects preparation, coaching, and the kind of mental composure that eighth-graders don’t always find easy to access, especially on a state stage. That she delivered a 285 under those conditions is the sort of result that ought to get noticed beyond the archery community.

The team’s sixth-place finish also suggests depth beyond the top scorer. A single elite performer can boost a team’s profile, but a sixth-place state finish requires contributions across the roster. Highland Park’s middle school program appears to have built something more sustainable than a one-archer show.

San Antonio served as a fitting venue. The state tournament draws competitors from across Texas, from rural school districts where NASP programs have decades of history to suburban programs like Highland Park’s that have built competitive rosters more recently. Placing in that field, against that competition, carries real weight.

For families in Preston Hollow and the broader Park Cities area, this result is a reminder that athletics takes many forms. The discipline required to stand at a line, draw a bow, and put arrows on target consistently is not trivial. It builds habits of mind that carry into classrooms and beyond.

Highland Park’s archery program isn’t trying to compete with football for attention. It doesn’t need to. It’s doing something different: producing competitors who perform at the top of a 639-person state field, finishing sixth as a team, and doing it without much fanfare.

That’s the kind of quiet excellence that tends to compound over time. San Antonio was a strong showing. The foundation looks solid.