Photo Provided Wheeling Central archer Shannon Looney earned a spot in the High School State Archery Championships where he will compete on Saturday in Charleston. Looney fired a score of 280 to qualify for the event and he became the first Wheeling Central archer to qualify for state in school history.

WHEELING — When Wheeling Central senior Shannon Looney found out that the school’s wrestling program was folding two years ago, he began looking for another winter sport to fill his time.

Little did he know, he was about to uncover a hidden skill in the form of archery.

Now, two years later, Looney has become the first Wheeling Central archer in school history to reach the High School Archery State Championships, where he will compete inside the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center on Saturday at 10 a.m.

“This is only my second year of archery,” Looney said. “Coach (Ed Crockard) asked me if I was interested and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try it out.’ Our wrestling program at Central left so I wanted to find something else during the winter time. So, I picked it up and found a talent that I didn’t know I had.”

Looney shot a score of 280 with 13 bullseyes at Cameron to qualify for the state championships.

“That was the highest score I’ve shot,”Looney said of the 280. “It was a goal of mine so it was an overwhelming feeling of happiness.”

The success didn’t come overnight for Looney, though. The senior worked tirelessly on perfecting his skill, which is making this season even more enjoyable for him.

“I made this my goal and I’ve been working toward it all season,” Looney said. “It can be kind of challenging sometimes.

“I do better on some days and sometimes I shoot worse. You have to learn to not let that get you down when you shoot worse.

“You have to keep pushing and just know that you will do better.”

Looney also takes great pride in the fact that he is the first archer in Wheeling Central school history to earn a trip to Charleston.

“It’s a great feeling,” Looney said. “I’ve been working for it and to be the first one at Central to qualify is really cool. Nobody has ever gone to state for archery here but the program is only 4 years old I think. It’s just such a great feeling.”