Attica High School senior Hannah Lacy recently earned an academic/athletic scholarship to shoot archery at the University of Rio Grande in Ohio.
Lacy spoke with the Fountain County Neighbor about her career in archery thus far and her aspirations to compete in the Olympics.
Lacy credits her grandfather, Greg Lacy, with getting her interested in archery when she in third grade.
“My grandpa asked me ‘Would you be interested in something like this?’ and I was in third grade and I was like “Sure. Let’s try it out.’ So he bought me a bow and we in back woods and he taught me how to shoot,” she said.
After this Lacy joined the Attica archery team.
She said Dave Reberger and his daughter taught her how to shoot after joining the team and she’s just stuck with it since then.
Asked what aspect of archery she enjoys the most, Lacy pointed to competing and meeting new people around the country as a result.
“The thing I enjoy most about it is just competing and making new friends around the country,” she said. “I have so many friends around the United States. It’s crazy how many friends I’ve made through archery. I just absolutely love to compete.”
Asked what she feels drives her and the friends she’s made throughout her archery career to stick with it and thrive in the sport, Lacy said self-discipline is important.
“Self-discipline,” she said. “You’ve got to put in a lot of commitment and time in this sport. It’s not an easy sport to do. You have a season from October through July if you go all the way through. A lot of people don’t do outdoor target, especially the ones who are new. I can understand that since their new. But I’ve been doing outdoor target since I started high school.”
Lacy said her highest level of competition in her career so far was when she competed in the Scholastic 3D Archery Nationals where she took ninth overall in the in the Young Adult Open Female class, a new class for this year’s competition.
In 2022, Lacy finished fourth in the National Outdoor Target competition.
Asked about how often she practices to keep her archery skills honed, Lacy said she practices at least four times a week for about two hours each day.
Over the summer, she said, she upped her practice schedule to every day to prepare to compete in the new class.
“I practiced every single day for two hours,” she said.
As for her career beyond high school, Lacy said she had a lot of different opportunities to choose where she would continue her archery career.
Lacy expressed her appreciation for University of Rio Grande Archery Coach Jonathan Clemins, who is a Paralympics head coach for the U.S. and also has an international team.
“If you shoot really good in university you can qualify for that team and possibly shoot the Olympics,” she said.
Lacy said she and her family visit the University of Rio Grande campus and were impressed.
“We did a college visit there and it was a beautiful place,” she said. “They have four archery facilities. They’re really nice and big. I had a lot more opportunities there than I had for the other schools.”
Lacy’s ultimate goal in her archery career is to compete in the Olympics.
“I hope to reach the Olympics one day,” she said. “That’s been my absolute dream to do. And I genuinely think if I stay committed to archery throughout college and get a lot better, I’m hoping to at least get to an Olympic level.”
Lacy expressed her appreciation to the Attica Jr./Sr. High School coaches and the Fountain Central coaches and her family for all of their support throughout her career.
Hannah’s parents, Jason and Kristen Lacy, also thanked everyone who has support Hannah through her archery career and their pride in their daughter for her accomplishment.
“We want to say a special thanks, to all her coaches and her grandparents, for all their support!” they said. “This accomplishment proves that dedication, practice, and passion, payoff and open new doors! We are all so proud of you, Hannah Lacy! Keep striving for the best!”
