Outdoors

By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer

Stacey Phetteplace of Flint reached competition gold a year ago, winning Texas Archery Shooters Association Federation state championship and shooter of the year title in the Bow Hunter division, this just three years after taking up archery.

After the competitive year, the Tyler-based Department of Public Safety firearms technician was ready to forget about 3D foam targets and concentrate on deer hunting, which she did from October through December. She then put her bow down with the intention of stepping away.

Then February rolled around and she decided to compete in a national shoot in Mississippi.

“I had stopped shooting so when I picked the bow up I couldn’t pull it. I had to drop it five pounds (draw weight). It took about a month to build back up,” Phetteplace said.

A week before the shoot she got sick, so her expectations weren’t high. Still she won, and with the encouragement of her twin sister, Tracey Sadler of Cameron, coach Gene Curry of Brownwood and others, she decided to campaign again.

“I didn’t expect to win. I figured I would do OK. I figured I would hit a couple but not too many,” said Phetteplace, who in the Bow Hunter division shoots at lengths up to 30 yards.

After the Mississippi event, she put together a string of a 10th, 13th and two second-place finishes at national events in Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Illinois.

She dominated the Texas trail with five wins and a third, capping on that season by repeating as state champion and shooter of the year just last month.

Phetteplace has one event left in the season, the national Team Realtree ASA Classic Championship at Fort Benning near Columbus, Ga., beginning Aug. 9. She is in second place in the shooter of the year points standings, just 18 points back and 36 points ahead of third.

“I am in a good position to finish first or second,” said Phetteplace, who because of a point restriction is in her last year in the Bow Hunter class.

Phetteplace finished in the top 20 in shooter points in 2007. However, with the encouragement of her sister, a more experienced shooter who talked her into competing, her husband, Enoch, also a competitive shooter, Curry and others, she stepped up her skill level.

“My husband says I am the most mentally tough person he has met when I get on the line. I am mentally prepared and nothing matters but shot. I don’t get distracted and I have lock-solid form,” she said.

Phetteplace prepares for each event by spending her lunch hour shooting and practicing judging distance at Tyler Archery Club. She traveled to Central Texas last week for a refresher with Curry, a shooter who has won two world championships and seven national titles and coached more than 30 others to state, national or world titles. Phetteplace visits Curry two or three times a year in Brownwood, but he also works with her when they cross paths at tournaments.

Two years ago Phetteplace considered herself no more than an average shooter. Curry called her technique “medium”. However, he said she had the ability to take instructions and the willingness to practice to become better.

“Her hard work makes her good, and she is a good shooter. Her shots are real solid. She pays close attention to direction,” Curry said.

He added that by tweaking a few things in her technique, Phetteplace can be “as good as she wants to be.”

STATE CHAMP: Flint’s Stacey Phetteplace captured state title and shooter of the year in Bow Hunter class for second straight year.
((Courtesy Photo))