Right On Target! Montana Teen is Top Western U.S. Student Archer

From a Montana town of fewer than 400 residents, one has earned national recognition as the top student archer in the western United States.

MEET JAMES LACY

Big Sky Country congratulations to 16-year-old James Lacy of Trout Creek! Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tells us that James won top honors at the 2026 National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Western National Tournament in Utah this spring. The competition consists of two events – bullseye and 3D archery.

James ranked first in a field of 1,232 boys, which qualifies him for the NASP Championship Tournament happening this week in Daytona, Florida.

James and his younger siblings, Garrett, 12, and Delilah, 4, are homeschooled and are part of Trout Creek Archery Club Homeschool Archery (TCAC) – a co-op where archery is taught as an elective to students. While the NASP is strictly a school-based program, TCAC allows the homeschool students to participate competitively.

According to their coach, Rachel Nottnagel, ​"We are incredibly proud to be the first and only homeschool NASP team in the state of Montana. One of our big goals is to use our experience to inspire and help other homeschool groups across the state get their own programs started."

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ABOUT NATIONAL ARCHERY IN THE SCHOOLS PROGRAM

NASP is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among students in grades 4 through 12. Through it, students learn focus, self-control, discipline, patience and the life lessons required to be successful in the classroom and in life.

James has only participated in competitive archery for two years. He competed at the Western Nationals in 2025, but did not do as well. Saying he was decent in 3D, but not in bullseye, "Last year nerves got to me real bad."

Obviously, this year, he tackled his nerves and headed into the Western Nationals with the confidence to at least beat his score from the 2025 tournament.

Mission accomplished! James also will compete in the NASP Scholarship Shoot-off. During the shoot-off he will compete against the combined overall top five male and top five female archers from both the Eastern and Western Nationals. He is the only archer from the Western Nationals to qualify. ​The scholarship award levels are determined by the order of elimination during this shoot-off, with the first-place archer winning a $5,000 scholarship.

DON'T FORGET LITTLE BROTHER

James is being accompanied to the championship tournament by Coach Nottnagel and James' little brother, Garrett.

Why? Because Garrett qualified in his age group for the bullseye event!