Philo graduate pursues archery dreams

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Everyone remembers how much they enjoyed gym class as a kid in middle school. For many, it helped shaped some of your favorite sports growing up — baseball, basketball, soccer. But for one Philo graduate, it was archery that stuck with him and now he’s got his eyes aimed and focused on his dreams.

What started out as just some 6th grade gym class fun, has turned into the pursuit of a dream for Philo graduate Cole Luburgh. He says that he shot one day in gym class, and he and his parents knew immediately that he had a gift for archery.

Luburgh says he started shooting in the 280’s (out of 300) right away and he’s been competing at local, national, and world levels for six years. He recalled his first state competition, explaining he kept nervously eating until it was his time to shoot. As he was shooting, a storm came through and all the lights went out, forcing them to re-start.

But now, Luburgh is the storm blowing through the competition at all levels. And while shooting comes naturally to him, he says there is a lot of hard work involved and people supporting him that help make him successful.

“I shoot everyday. You [have to] be really dedicated to it. I shoot for at least an hour everyday. You have to have a super supportive family, and friends, and coaches and everybody to back you up,” said Cole.

In May, Cole competed in the National NASP/IBO 3-D Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky. Cole finished as the 3-D National Champion as well as top overall 3-D archer. The competition led him to the 2017 World’s Tournament in Orlando where Cole was one of four individuals with the highest point total, scoring a 296 out of 300. And while he was nervous, he says once he starts shooting, he’s done it so many times that he just blocks everything out.

The competitions consist of the individuals shooting at six different targets with the same scoring rings, however each are at a different distance; though you don’t know which target you are going to start on until to get to the competition.

“[You get] five arrows for practice on the first target, and then you shoot five arrows for score on every other target from then on out. You don’t get any other practice rounds. They all have the same scoring rings on them, but they’re different distances and different heights. So there’s a 10-ring, a 9, an 8, and then a 7,” Cole explained.

Cole’s mom, Dee, says that she drives him around to his many competitions all over the country. They’ve already been to Wisconsin, Chicago, Nashville, Orlando, and Myrtle Beach. Cole is committed to shooting archery at Hocking College and will continue to travel with their team to the likes of North Dakota, Las Vegas, Georgia, Alabama, and Missisissippi for various competitions as well. Hocking College, which shoots at a national level, won the silver in the nation last season.

As a parent, Dee says it is nerve-wracking watching her son compete, especially when they have to sit for long periods and don’t know if his scores will hold up.

“You just sit there, and I keep scores at every tournament.  You tell them not to keep track, but he knows every arrow, how many points he is close to 300. So it’s very nerve-wracking because sometimes you have to wait three hours, four hours for those final shooters to finish up to see if if the [score] held or not,” Dee explained.

But through all the competitions and all the travels, Dee says that as Cole’s mother, she and her husband are just very proud parents and hope to see him fulfill his dreams.

“Oh, we’re extremely proud of him , yeah. I hope Mathew’s picks him up, you know that’s his dream,” said Dee with tears of pride in her eyes.

Cole says he has one more competition coming up in August before college starts.

“It’s the three-star, it’s the triple-crown so national’s was the first star, world’s is the second star, and then the shoot in Pennsylvania will be the third star of it. Then if I win that, then that’s it and I go and shoot in college starting in the fall.”

And as for his dreams– when I asked Cole what his ultimate goal was– he said “to either end up in the Olympics or shooting professionally for somebody.”