By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch At the age of 16, Braden Henrickson is stepping onto the world stage of archery. The Eatonville teenager competed last week in the Vegas Shoot in Las Vegas, Nev. In what is considered the largest and most prestigious indoor archery tournament on the planet, he placed 36th in the 15-17-year-olds bracket. Henrickson joined a 4-H archery club at the age of 8 after he saw a demonstration of the sport at the Pierce County Fair in Graham. He "thought it looked cool and fun to try.GÇ¥ Since then, he has won 11 state titles, and last year he was one of the participants in an archery demonstration back at the same fair where he got his start. Now he has decided to test his prowess at the international and national levels, starting with the Vegas Shoot Jan. 29-31. Some of the 3,000 entrants were Olympics-caliber and were competing for cash and prizes totaling $350,000. Henrickson, who competes in the freestyle compound division, also plans to enter two prominent tournaments in the next few months in California GÇô a national event in Redding in May that's attracting an international field, and the Southern California Showdown in San Diego in June. He hopes he's on a path that will some day put him on the U.S. world team. "Archery is my biggest passion, and my goal is to go as far as I can with it,GÇ¥ he said. Henrickson thinks one of his best accomplishments so far is being selected by Bow Tech, a maker of archery equipment, to be one of the company's factory pro staff shooters for 2016. He'll represent Bow Tech while using some of its newly released gear. Away from competition, Henrickson is a sophomore at Eatonville High School and president of the 4-H group at the Upper Nisqually Sportsmen's Club. His archery exploits can be followed at http://www.BradenHenricksenArchery.com and on Instagram @Braden_teambowtech.
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