Wolford, 13, wins world archery title
SUMMIT TWP — Riley Wolford just loves shooting a bow.
“It's fun. It's addicting,” the 13-year-old Summit Township resident said.
He's taken that addiction to a high level.
Riley recently won the 9-13 age division at the IBO World Championship held at the Snowshoe Ski Resort in West Virginia. The competition took three days.
Riley's ascension in archery has been a quick one. He didn't begin participating in competitions until two years ago.
“He got started in archery almost before he could walk,” said Dane Wolford, Riley's father. “He's always loved it. He's always to shoot.”
And he shoots year-round.
Riley practices daily during the winter at the sportsman club in East Butler. He practices daily during the summer in his family's backyard.
“I probably shoot 60 arrows a day during the winter and 75 a day in the summer,” Riley said.
A member of the Butler Archers, Riley held two state championships and a national title before claiming his world championship.
In the 2019 IBO tournament series, he took fourth place in the first leg of the National Triple Crown in Pipestem, W.Va., before taking third in the second leg in Bloomington, Ind. Riley claimed first place in the third leg in Franklin, shooting a 422 with 22x's.
The IBO World Championship consisted of 20 targets each of the first two days. The third day was a 10-target shootout involving the top five shooters.
Riley took a 1-point lead going into the shootout. He finished with a 3-point edge with a score of 531 and 33x's. Matthew Harper of Zanesville was second with a 528 and 32x's.
“Winning that gave me a lot of confidence,” Riley said. “My goal is to turn pro someday. That's my main thing.
“I'm hoping to go pro by the time I'm 15 or 16. You have to win pro tournaments in pro divisions to do that. I feel like I can get there.”
Riley had played hockey up until this year, deciding to forego that sport to concentrate on archery. He is going into eighth grade this year.
“This is what I want to do,” he said of archery.
He added that the key to success in the sport is repetition and concentration.
“It's such a mental game,” Riley said. “You have to have the mind-set that every single shot is going to be perfect. It's all about focus.
“I get tired of practicing sometimes,” he admitted. “Still, I'm out there every day.”
He's also bagged two bucks and some squirrels while bow hunting in his young lifetime.
While his father shoots a bow as well, he leaves the big events to his son.
“I do a lot of the local tournaments,” Dane Wolford said. “The larger ones, I'm there for him.”
