Women’s archery growing in Mississippi

• Local archery phenom Morgan Rives out of William Carey is a large part of why the sport is growing all across Mississippi and the Southeastern United States.

Typically, when you think of athletics the first thing that comes to mind is the “Big 3.” In Mississippi, we celebrate our athletic seasons like most states celebrate actual weather seasons. Football means fall has arrived, even though it’s usually still well into the nineties for half of the season. By the time we get to basketball season we start thinking about winter. And baseball lets us know that spring is near and new life is on the way.

That said, there are other sports that come and go without nearly the attention that football, basketball, and baseball receive, and archery is one of them.

Be honest, how many of you have ever thought about archery season? Probably not many. But don’t tell that to local archery phenom, Morgan Rives. Rives currently shoots for the William Carey Archery team and is a large part of their recent team success, as well as a large part of why the sport is growing all across Mississippi and the Southeastern United States.

Her love for archery began when she was seven years old, and she’s been at it ever since. Now, she’s a sophomore at William Carey and still slinging arrows. Hailing from Natchez, Rives is currently ranked No. 136 in the world for women’s compound bow shooting. She’s been ranked as high as 93rd at one time. Since arriving on the scene at Carey, she’s already won a 3D National Championship and was named the 2024 Indoor National Champion. She also picked up a bronze medal for the 2024 Outdoor Championship.

“I’ve been shooting since I was seven years old,” says Rives. “Being able to make a successful career out of what I group up doing is something I’ve always wanted,” she added. 

While shooting professionally, she was named the ASA (Archery Shooters Association) 2021 Women’s Shooter of the Year. The ASA Pro/Am Tour is a national series of Pro/Am tournaments, plus the Championship “Classic” which are recognized as the best run, highest paying and most exciting events in 3-D archery. Competitors pay entry fees based on their competitive division in both pro and amateur classes, and they receive cash awards, trophies, and accumulate points toward the prestigious “Shooter of the Year” award in their class. She’d finished 3^rd in those standings a year earlier and finished second in 2024, pretty impressive to only be 19 years old. She’s won eight different ASA events during her career.

“I’ve been shooting professionally since I was fifteen and shooting against grown women my whole life,” said Rives when asked about her career. “Being able to see how far I’ve come and the success I’ve experienced is astonishing,” says Rives.

Rives isn’t alone in her love of archery in the State of Mississippi. Last spring over six hundred forty high school boys participated in the state championship tournament. And even more surprising to this writer, over five hundred high school girls participated in the event. There are currently over six hundred schools in Mississippi that participate in the AIMS (Archery in Mississippi Schools) program with over six thousand student archers participating. It’s quickly becoming one of the fastest growing sports in Mississippi. The AIMS program is facilitated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. 

The William Carey University Archery team currently has around thirty members, male and female, on the roster and has been ranked among the Top 25 collegiate archery teams in the nation over the last few years. Coached by Johnnie Stinson, the Crusader archery team continues to build momentum nationally, especially with the addition of archers like Rives.

‘Over the past years, we have been building a very competitive archery team,” says Stinson. “The addition of Morgan Rives, a pro compound shooter, with her knowledge, skills, humbleness, willingness to assist others, and ability to stay calm under pressure situations in competitions, have set an example for other archers which has helped the team step up in performance,” he added. 

When asked about her experience as a student-athlete at William Carey, Rives stated, “Being able to go to college and be active in the sport I love, I’m very grateful for. Carey has been very great to work with, especially with my busy travel schedules. It’s such a great school and I love shooting and representing them.”

Stinson sounded off on the impact Rives has had on the team and their success. “The year before Morgan attended WCU, the archery team was ranked #15 in the nation.  With the addition of Morgan, as well as other archers, we are now ranked #7 in the nation for collegiate programs,” said Stinson. “This year, the team has added more high-ranking recurve and barebow archers. We are looking forward to ranking even higher as a team,” he added.

Rives and the rest of the William Carey Archery team will get their 2025 season kicked off on September 19 when they host a USA Archery 3D Collegiate Regional at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center in Hattiesburg.

“On the William Carey University archery team’s shooter shirts is printed, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” As a team we give glory to God for any and all achievements and blessings,” says Stinson. “We have the full support of the administration, and we are blessed with archers who work hard to achieve goals for the benefit of the team. We give God all the glory,” he exclaimed.