Van der Merwe claims fourth gold at Berg-Op

Willem van der Merwe long reigned supreme in the African Genesis Archery (AGA) Namibia junior division and has continued that success after transitioning to the senior division this year, already racking up four gold medals.

His latest overall title came at the Berg-Op Academy Ranking Shoot in Okahandja last weekend, where 124 archers descended on the Garden Town for a full day of competition.

Cubs battled it out only in the Bullseye round, with a maximum score of 300, while juniors and seniors competed in the Bullseye and Animal Target rounds, with a combined maximum of 1 200.

Archers outside the school system competed in the Adult Archery Group (AAG), where the Animal Target and Bullseye rounds carried a combined maximum of 900.

The Windhoek Afrikaans Private School (Wap) prospect’s first title came when he shook up the standings in his first senior competition in February, winning the Moria season opener in Outjo.

Van der Merwe later retained the title in Windhoek a month later at Vegkop Stadium, settled for bronze at Danie Joubert Combined School in March and reclaimed top spot at Pro-Ed Academy in Swakopmund a month later.

At Berg-Op, he had to work for the top spot, with his score of 1 143 giving him gold by only two points ahead of schoolmate Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout, who took silver with 1 141.

The bronze medal was won by Walvis Bay Private School’s (WBPS) Peter-James Fisher with 1 136.

In the senior girls’ division, familiar podium finisher Anchè Heydenrych finally claimed her first gold medal of the season after three silver medals.

Her first silver came at Moria, the second at Danie Joubert and the third at Community Hope School (CHS) in May.

After tightly contested rounds, which saw all archers in the top five either tied on points or separated by only one or two points in the overall standings, the newly crowned WBPS champion came out on top by a narrow two-point margin.

Heydenrych posted a standout score of 1 085 to claim gold, followed by local prospect Alishka Lindholm from the hosting school, who took silver with 1 083.

Moria Private School’s Sume Jansen van Vuuren finished third, taking bronze with 1 082.

Junior champions

The junior boys’ and girls’ divisions were equally competitive.

Boys: 1 Ben Rothkegel (Central Elite Archery Club (CEAC); 1 091), 2 Melzario Gariseb (CHS; 1 082), 3 Wandre Fest (Roots Gymnasium; 1 078).

Girls: 1 Charisme Rothen (Pro-Ed; 1 110), 2 Jeandrie van der Merwe (Wap; 1 082), 3 Donaline Pieterson (CHS; 1 063).

Cub champions

The cub section also saw standout performances.

Boys: 1 Zephan Maritz (Berg-Op; 205), 2 Joshua Ishola (Windhoek Christian Academy (WCA); 101), 3 Shuan-Carlo Gertze (WCA; 71), 4 Jayden Sibanda (WCA; 55).

Girls: 1 Olivia Sakeus (WCA; 222), 2 Liana Manda (WCA; 62). They were the only competitors.

AAG champions

Parents and individuals outside the school system also joined in on the fun, matching their marksmanship against one another.

Men: 1 Cruzeiro Garobeb (CHS; 858), 2 Berend Blom (Moria; 854), 3 Delron Gaoseb (Wap; 854), 4 Fedaliz Basson (CHS; 843).

Women: 1 Marionette de Waal (CEAC; 837), 2 Christie Agenbach (Wap; 824), 3 Alyssa van Zijl (Pro-Ed; 817), 4 Alida Bezuidenhout (Wap; 813).

Event highlights

Hosting school representative Christel du Plessis noted that one of the highlights from the event was Pro-Ed Academy’s Charisme Rothen, who set a new Animal Target (3D) record of 277 at the tournament.

“Congratulations to all archers for your amazing results, which include personal bests, new records and podium spots. You never cease to amaze. Something that really pulled at my heartstrings was witnessing a packed shooting range. I am proud,” she indicated.

Du Plessis further thanked Berg-Op for hosting, as well as the member schools and clubs for their participation.

“Okahandja says thank you. The weather was amazing; we ordered that especially. Nothing is perfect and never will be.

“But our timing, BAIS [Basic Archery Instructor certification] and archers were on point. There is always something to improve, and we’ll keep striving for excellence. Thank you for being part of our family. We are blessed and grateful,” she remarked.

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