Jessica Kerman
jessica.kerman@heraldbulletin.com
Garrett Ayerson, 13, looks like any other normal middle school student. But his bow shot is one of the best in the area.
The young man wore a winter cap — to keep his long hair in place — as he aimed for his target in the LimbSaver Shoot Off on Thursday night.
Ayerson was the top of five in the youth class to compete for a $500 scholarship. The scholarship, which will sit in an interest-bearing account until Ayerson turns 18 or graduates from high school, is the third he has won because of his archery skills.
The adult classes in the shootoff competed for a $1,000 first-place prize and a $500 second-place prize.
LimbSaver, from Sims Vibration Laboratory, manufactures a part for the bow that dampens vibrations made from a shot.
Eighth-grader Ayerson has been in archery since he was 6 years old.
“I grew up around archery,” he said.
He said he prefers the outdoors to inside games such as basketball, and he enjoys the hunt. He’s hunted deer, bear and boar, he said.
That’s why when he competed in the LimbSaver Shoot Off on Thursday night, the boar model made for an easy target.
Being from Morgantown, W.Va., Ayerson is used to a mountainous terrain when he shoots. The competition, which had been held in his home state in years past, is nothing new to Ayerson, but he did not like the change to Anderson.
“I don’t like it because it’s real flat and the heat,” he said.
