Published June 05, 2017 in NewsBy P.J. Reilly

Lancaster Archery's T.J. Strychalski makes his first ASA pro-class podium

Lancaster Archery's T.J. Strychalski makes his first ASA pro-class podium
At just 17 years of age, Lancaster Archery Supply Pro Shop TechXpert Ted "T.J." Strychalski finished third in the Men's Known-Pro Class at the 2017 Archery Shooters Association (ASA) TRU Ball/Axcel Pro-Am Championship in London, Ky., June 2-4.TJ3It's the first pro-class podium finish at an ASA 3-D tournament for Strychalski, of Elizabethtown, Pa. Strychalski is a staff shooter for Elite.Belying his young age and lack of finals experience, Strychalski showed tremendous grittiness in fighting his way to the third-place finish, behind long-time pros Nathan Brooks and Chance Beaubouef.After two days of shooting Saturday and Sunday, Strychalski earned the fifth and final spot in the finals shootdown. He was six points behind the leader - Brooks - and four points behind the three others shootdown qualifiers, who all were tied.In the shootdown, the five finalists each shot six arrows on a pressure-packed field in front of a large crowd. Strychalski's first arrow was a 14, which he followed up with three straight 12s, before finishing off with two 10s.Shooting at a 14 is a high risk, high reward endeavor in 3-D archery. It's the most points on a target, but it's a small scoring ring, and a miss results in either an 8 or a 5.The son of Dave and Michelle Strychalski, T.J. has been a competitive archer for several years, getting his start as a member of the Lancaster Archery Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) Team.TJ1Besides training for his archery competitions and going to high school, Strychalski has worked part-time in the LAS Pro Shop since 2014. There, he assists customers in choosing archery gear, setting up that equipment, providing basic shooting instruction and performing all the other duties associated with working in an archery pro shop.TJ2