Halpenny pushes past grief to make her family, school, and community proud!!
By Andrew Harris, pictured are Amanda and Margaret Halpenny
Margaret Halpenny just returned from Louisville, Kentucky after placing in the top ten among over 750 other female archers around the nation!! The Eastern National 3-D tournament brought over 4000 girls from schools all over the country to the Kentucky Exposition Center for competition.
757 of those archers were Elementary students like Margaret, who is in 5th grade at Arkport Central School. Margaret may have been the only archer who recently lost her father and archery partner. Last year her father Michael passed away after a long health struggle.
With an angel on her shoulder, Margaret persevered and showed the nation that all the time spent with her dad flinging arrows paid off. Her aim was true and Halpenny posted an impressive 271 points out of 300 possible ! That performance earned her a top ten finish !!
Her late father played a key role in this success and connection to the sport. According to Margaret’s mom Amanda,
“The two of them would spend HOURS in the woods ‘hunting’ together during deer season.”
Mike and Amanda gave Margaret her first ‘real’ bow when she was 7. Father and daughter would practice shooting all the time, and her skills started to shine.
Mike was never able to watch her shoot in a NASP tournament in person because he was admitted at Cleveland Clinic awaiting a 6 organ transplant.
Sadly Margaret lost her father, Amanda lost a husband, and moving forward has been difficult. Even though Mike is gone, his energy and presence are still with them.
Amanda explains how a hawk has played a role in coping with the loss and maintaining a connection wherever Margaret goes:
“After Mikes passing there is a hawk that sits on our deck and is always around the house. We were able to get his ashes placed into ‘hawkey’ which has been to every competition with her.
She also has a bracelet with his ashes in it that she wears 24/7. It’s engraved with ‘BTH’ because mags always called Mike ‘Big Time Hunter’“
Archery was something the two of them shared together, and continuing to compete has helped her stay connected to those memories while pushing herself through an incredibly difficult year.“
Clearly her father taught Margaret much more than archery skills. This young lady has shown resilience, determination, and achievement while representing both Arkport Central School and the local community. We will keep you posted on Margaret’s accomplishments!
