Elam takes over the Blue Raider archery program coming off an impressive inaugural season in 2018-19.
“I’m excited for Mark to lead our program,” Pooler said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge to the program and I’m confident in his ability to build on our successful first season.
“His enthusiasm and experience made him the obvious choice,” Pooler added. “I know our student-athletes will benefit greatly from Mark’s leadership and I’m excited about the direction of our program.”
Elam, along with his wife, Ronda, founded Tuckasee Archery, an S3DA team. The team has grown from the initial six students in the first year to currently over 70 participants with more than 50 competition members.
Tuckasee Archery has produced eight Tennessee State team champions since 2017 and one national championship. Three individuals have earned national podium finishes over the last two years.
In addition to Tuckasee Archery, Elam is the owner and operator of AAA Outdoors in Tompkinsville, Ky., an archery shop that services archery equipment.
“I am very excited to get the archery season started,” Elam said. “We have a strong group of student-athletes returning that know how to be competitive, and proved it by finishing the school’s inaugural season with an eighth-place finish at outdoor nationals.
“The incoming freshmen are experienced beyond their years, and between them hold a number of national and even world titles,” Elam added. “Look for the Lindsey Wilson College archery program to be very strong on a national level this year.”
Elam assisted with the LWC team near the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. He has served as a director of the national Archery Shooters Association (ASA) organization’s youth program for the last three years. Elam coached and organized teams in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) and began Scholastic 3D Archery (S3DA) teams in 2016.
Lindsey Wilson earned a pair of top-10 finishes in the three national championships during its inaugural season in 2018-19. The Blue Raiders finished eighth at the 3D National Championships in October and eighth at the Outdoor Target National Championships in May. Lindsey Wilson finished 13th at the Indoor National Championships with 17 of its 19 student-athletes competing as freshmen.
Lindsey Wilson opens the 2019-20 season on Friday, Sept. 20, at the 3D Regionals in Barbourville, Ky.