Bull’s-eye summer
Mavericks standout claims national archery victory
Anderson County High School rising junior Maddox Tackett displays the championship hardware and prize checks after capturing his second national archery title at a recent tournament. Tackett, a three-sport athlete for the Mavericks, claimed the championship in his division and added another national crown to his growing list of accomplishments. (photo:Submitted )
A rising junior and three-sport athlete at Anderson County High School, Tackett keeps a busy schedule year-round.
While the Mavericks are in the midst of the TSSAA-mandated two-week dead period, which ends Sunday, Tackett has remained active on the national archery circuit.
Over the weekend, he captured a national tournament championship and earned $1,000 in prize money.
“I won in my age group in a tournament where people come from all over the world to compete,” said Tackett, who plays football, basketball and golf for the Mavericks.
“This was a judging competition and the yardage is unknown and you don’t have a range finder and it’s a lot different without a range finder.
“I ground judge and I take a peek at the target and see how far it is,” he said.
Tackett began participating in the sport alongside his father and grandfather.
“I’ve been involved in archery my whole life,” he said.
Tackett, 17, is also successful in football.
He is a backup quarterback, but saw plenty of playing time last year behind starter J.D. Gillum.
He also plays basketball in Jordan Jeffers’ program, and helped the Mavericks win the district golf championship last fall.
He’s also successful in the classroom. He holds a 4.09 grade-point average.
“This was my second win, and I’m looking for another one at the end of July,” Tackett said. “I’m super busy. It’s basically 7-7 every day and then you go to bed, get up and do it again the next day.
“You just have to work hard and you can’t take time off,” he said. “You have to love it.”
In addition to archery, Tackett is preparing for another season on the gridiron, and high school golf season looms around the corner.
The Mavericks have also been working this summer.
But Tackett is doing more, as he also plays golf in tournaments during the summer.
He was recently ranked in the top 5,000 among youth golfers.
“I just got nationally ranked in golf,” he said.
“The system is kind of strange but they rank the top 5,000 golfers and I’m ranked No. 1,075.”
A devout Christian, Tackett is also seeking to spread the gospel as he competes in his multiple athletic disciplines.
“I’m grateful to God for giving me the ability to do all of these things,” he said.
“I’m always looking to spread the word about Him.”
