Brookhaven Academy archery coach Kelly McDonald said he couldn’t have been more proud of how hard his team worked throughout the season to get better.

It resulted in a MAIS 2A Archery state championship for the Cougars.

“Our kids really worked hard at this, and they deserve the recognition,” McDonald said. “We started working in November, and then everything carried over into the competitions. We only had one tournament that we really fell off, but we rebounded in the state championship tournament. We wound up shooting well at South-State and won the championship there.”

The Cougars don’t have any seniors on their squad, and could be poised for a repeat championship if everything falls into place again next year.

“We started tournaments in the middle of February, and we were really young,” McDonald said. “Every tournament we got better. The young kids really bought in, and every practice they’d take it as an opportunity.”

McDonald said that he recognized when the season turned towards the better.

“We struggled at Simpson Academy’s tournament,” McDonald said. “But I think we got better because of that tournament.”

The Cougars racked up on the hardware from an individual standpoint as well.

Kaitlyn Beal was recognized as the highest female shooter in MAIS, while Timmy Lin was recognized as the highest male shooter in MAIS. Sam Stevens was recognized as the highest elementary shooter for the Cougars.

Lin said that the team worked hard and he was happy to see the success that the Cougars had.

“We worked hard and put in the time, and I’m glad we had a good season,” Lin said. “I was glad we won the state championship.”

The Cougars will return everyone to next year’s team, and McDonald said that he hopes that they can continue the success.

“We didn’t have any seniors,” McDonald said. “I hope that everyone comes back next year and we’re able to have that same success again.”