A young Pennsylvania teenager may soon need a larger trophy room for all of his competitive archery honors as he prepares for deer season. Wyatt Schilling, 14, of Butler County, has earned several state, national and world championships. The son of Matthew and Leighann Schilling, of Portersville, will be entering ninth grade this fall at Portersville Christian School. He’s been practicing archery in school since the third grade. “I started shooting when I was 5 years old,” he said. “It was a birthday gift from my uncle.” Schilling enjoyed shooting that kid-sized longbow in his backyard. “I just kept wanting to shoot it over and over again," he said, "and then I outgrew the bow and got a bigger one." Go Outdoors PA: Ex-world archery champ explains how to get your bow ready for deer
More: New bill limits Pennsylvania game wardens on private land When he was in the third grade, he joined the school’s National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) little archer’s division and started competitions in fourth grade. He’s been competing in NASP ever since and has earned top state and world honors. In 2023, Schilling earned first place in both the elementary male in Pennsylvania NASP and elementary male IBO worlds. IBO is the International Bowhunters Organization. In 2025, he placed first in the middle school male NASP 3D state tournament and posted the highest score to be the top overall 3D archer in the state. He also placed second in the middle school male NASP bullseye competition. This year he compiled numerous awards. He’s earned first place in the middle school male NASP 3D state tournament; was the top overall 3D archer in the state for NASP; placed second in the NASP middle school male bullseye; first place middle school male 3D Nationals for NASP, fourth place middle school male bullseye NASP nationals; first place 3D NASP/Centershot Nationals middle school male; first place bullseye NASP/centershot nationals middle school male; first place Indoor IBO worlds middle school male, and in the outdoor IBO worlds earlier this month, he came in sixth place, missing fifth place by one point.
For NASP, all the archers shoot the same style of bow, a Mathews Genesis compound that has a maximum draw weight of 20 pounds and no sights. “There’s nothing advanced on the Genesis bow so you’re shooting about as traditionally as it comes with a compound bow,” Wyatt said. They shoot at bullseye targets that are 15 meters, close to 17.5 yards away. In the IBO events, they shoot at 3D animal targets at distances that are unknown to the competitors out to 20 yards. “I think I like the 3D targets a little more (as compared to bullseye targets) because when you’re looking down the arrow, it’s a different change of scenery with every target,” he said. The IBO 3D events require him to guess the yardage to know where to aim on foam animals ranging from as small as a rabbit or bobcat up to a deer to a moose, elk or bison. To prepare, Schilling places buckets at five-yard intervals at his home and then gets to know how far away things look at different distances. “Once you do the bucket drill multiple times, you start to remember in your head what that looks like; 'It was at the third bucket out.' That’s what’s helped me the most,” Wyatt said. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has been excited about Schilling's success. “Wyatt's trajectory of success in four short middle school years is incredible! He started NASP in fourth grade, ranking in the top 50% in Pa. Then, on to fifth grade making the top 30%, sixth grade in the top 10%, and finishing seventh and eightth grade strong, with state and national titles” Kaila Hess, shooting sports coordinator for the PGC and NASP coordinator for Pennsylvania. “That is a huge accomplishment for a middle schooler. In the history of IBO/NASP 3D state competitions in Pa., Wyatt is one of three middle school boys who made the podium. Another being Logan Rhinevault, who also made the podium as an elementary school archer. Those statistics won't make anyone surprised to see him up there again,” she said through email. “It's empowering to see the passion, determination and dedication that exists in today's youth. The fact that there is a kid out there, finding a way to further his experience in something he loves, and achieve success, gets me amped up. Shooting sports and hunting built a large part of who I am and I cannot imagine who I'd be, or where I'd be without that. I sure wouldn't be running a statewide shooting sports program. Given that, it's just as empowering to know that there are friends, families, coaches and communities out there creating and stewarding this kind of passion well, like my community once did for me,” Hess said. “I look forward to hearing about his future successes and doing whatever I can to support the strong, yet growing interest for shooting sports in our home state.” The events help Schilling see different parts of the country and meet new people. He’s been shooting in places like Kentucky and West Virginia.
He’s been fortunate to meet some of the top archers in the world including Levi Morgan, who has earned several world championships and also lives in Pennsylvania. “He told me to practice, it goes a long way in being committed to what you set your goals at,” Schilling said. He’s also met with representatives of several archery companies including one, Xpedition Archery, who sent him a bow to use for hunting and some IBO tournaments. Pennsylvania has a long tradition of top archery competitors. Brady Myers of East Berlin was named the IBO World Champion at the Aug. 9 competition, and he earned Shooter of the Year honors in the Archery Shooters Association (ASA) tournament. This will be Wyatt’s fourth year archery hunting and he’s had some success there as well. He was able to get a 4-point and a 7-point over the past three years. “It’s a lot different than rifle hunting,” he said about needing a close shot opportunity. He believes the competitions help him as hunter. “It definitely makes me more confident in my equipment, especially shooting my hunting bow. I know how to make an ethical shot on a target, so then I can follow that into my hunting,” he said. The advanced level of the competitions has helped him to remain calm even in stressful hunting encounters. “The high pressure doesn’t bother me,” he said. He thanks those who have helped him to be successful. His local archery shop, Acorn Archery in New Castle, has set up and adjusted his bows over the years and they have an archery range where he likes to practice. He also credits his coaches through the NASP program and his parents for allowing him to pursue his passion and help him travel to the different tournaments. Looking ahead he would like to work in an archery pro shop. “I want to help people in the way that I can because I love coaching the young archers on my team at school,” he said. “I love to see the turnaround from someone who was losing interest in the sport and then I fixed something and then they were in love with the sport all over again." Schilling plans to study veterinary medicine for large animals in agriculture. “Working in an agricultural field has always been an interest of mine, growing up on a farm,” he said. He enjoys life on their family farm and seeing the wildlife in the fields. “It makes for good deer hunting when you have the woods and fields, it pulls them in,” he said. For those getting into archery or those who may be having trouble with their accuracy, he said, “Just keep going, just practice as much as you can and try not to lose interest in something you loved before. There’s a reason you enjoyed doing it in the past.” Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@usatodayco.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How this Pennsylvania teen archer became a world champion