Bend teen archer finds the bull’s eye fast

Amy Puckett, a senior at Bend High School, is going on to compete in the World Archery Tournament in July. She finished second at both the state and national competition, but the journey to this lofty point hasn’t taken as long as you might think.

Puckett didn’t even pick up a bow until last September.

“I don’t know — I thought it would be fun, and I heard about the club being offered at school, so I thought I’d try it out,” Puckett said Tuesday.

According to her coach, her genuine interest in the sport is what has allowed her to get better over a relatively short period of time.

“It’s very special,” said Jon Brickey. “It’s very unique. Kids work a lot of hours and a lot of time to perfect their craft, and for her to pick it up as quickly as she did is pretty amazing.”

This isn’t a surprise to her mother, though. She said Amy is one of those people who excels at anything she does.

“She’s always been that way, whether it’s been her music, or drawing, pottery, art work or school work,” Stephanie McGolrick said.

Puckett also has a 4.0 GPA. The best part of Nationals for her was scoring a career-high 293 out of 300 possible points.

“I’m so excited,” Puckett said. “I worked really hard to get there, so I’m really glad that I did well.”

With this kind of success, who knows where she could go? Her mother hopes she’ll be representing the Red, White and Blue.

“Of course, as a mother, I’m hoping she’ll head for the Olympics,” McGolrick said. “That’s my dream.”

“A lot of people have been asking me about that,” Puckett said. “I think it’s something to consider, at least.”

The world’s competition is this July in Madison, Wisconsin.

Since Puckett needs a little help getting to Madison, there has been an account setup at SELCO Credit Union under the name “World Archery Competition Tournament” that anyone can donate to.