When a football or basketball team heads off to a championship game, we often times see school spirit shine through with students and the community gathering to cheer-on and send-off their team.

So, why not do the same for a student competing in archery?

That's the spirit students at Mineral Ridge High School shared Thursday morning as they celebrated the success of Senior Mikayla Nutt, who will compete this weekend in the Lancaster Archery Classic in Pennsylvania.

Students lined the hallways, including the band, to give Nutt a proper send off.

The Lancaster Archery Classic bills itself as the largest archery competition on the East Coast. Nutt is considered to be a semi-pro archer and will be participating in the women's open division against women of all ages and from around the country.

In 2020, Nutt was ranked as the 8th best shooter/archer in the country. She began shooting in 2nd grade and later joined a team at On Target Outfitters in Canfield, then eventually moved on to Bills Archery Center in Transfer, Pennsylvania to compete in their Junior Olympics Archery Deployment team.

She now practices several times a week and spends her weekends competing. Her dream is to go pro. But, you won't find her in the Olympics any time soon. Nutt shoots a compound bow, which currently does not qualify in the Olympics games. 

And while Mineral Ridge does not have an archery program, that has not kept students from celebrating Nutt's success or kept her from perusing her dreams.

"Do not ever let anyone tell you what you can achieve or accomplish. What pushes me to do better every day is the people telling me that I won't be successful. The only person that can determine how far you will go - or even what kind of day you are going to have- is you," said Nutt.

Nutt expressed gratitude for the support the district and her classmates have shown.

Friday, Nutt aims to place in the Top 32. If she is successful, she will move on to Saturday's shoot off finals.