Nock your arrows, and knock down the titles. That’s the business the Thompson Falls Archery Club seems to be in.

Led by Montana Archery Association triple crown winners Elena Whittenburg and Mason Bartlett, Thompson Falls Archery Club members posted some very impressive results in 2026.

In addition to Whittenburg and Bartlett claiming their MAA triple crown titles, Elena in the Youth Female Bowhunter Freestyle class and Mason in the Youth Male Bowhunter Freestyle, fellow TFAC members Ai Moore, Ryker Whittenburg and Nick Rueda also shot well in the tournaments they competed in this calendar year, club president Tony Bierwagen said.

“Everyone did a great job in the meets they shot in,” he said. “Elena and Mason especially performed well in the big shoots. They did a great, got better all season, and it paid off for them.”

Still one of the best competitive archers in the area at shoots and a long-time, respected instructor in target shooting of all disciplines otherwise, Bierwagen had a very impressive year on the tournament trail as well.

MAA triple crown scoring is based on the combined scoring from three events: the Montana State Indoor, held in Kalispell back in February; the Montana Target Shoot, contested in Bozeman in early June; and the Montana Field Shoot, held in Butte later in June.

To claim her triple crown, Whittenburg shot the best of anyone in her class to take first in the Target and Field shoots, and finished a strong second in the Indoors.

Bartlett was the MAA man in his class, winning first place in all three of the big shoots, besides also collecting top honors in his class at the Montana 3D Bear outdoor target shoot at Clearwater Junction early this summer.

Moore, competing in Adult Female Bowhunter Freestyle, collected championships in the Montana State Indoors in February and at the 3D Bear shoot later on.

Shooting in the Cubs Bowhunter Freestyle division, Ryker Whittenburg registered second place wins in the Cubs Bowhunter Freestyle class at the Montana Target and Field shoots, and finished fifth in the Indoors.

Also competing in the Cubs Bowhunter Freestyle class, Rueda won third place in the Montana Target shoot and fourth in the Indoors.

For his part, Bierwagen, competing in the Silver Senior Freestyle class, won first place in the Field shoot and a close second to a rival quality shooter in the Indoors, Target and 3D events. Topping off his year of shooting and instructing nicely, Tony captured the second Montana Senior Olympics championship of his accomplished archery career in Kalispell just last weekend, August 1-2.

    TRIPLE CROWN WINNER Mason Bartlett has claimed the 2026 Montana Archery Association triple crown in the Male Youth Bowhunter Freestyle class. Shown nocking an arrow while competing in the Montana Outdoor Target shoot in Thompson Falls in June of 2025, Bartlett took home titles in all three MAA triple crown events this past year and also won the Bear 3D shoot at Clearwater Junction earlier this summer. Mason shoots with the Thompson Falls Archery Club. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)
  

    MONTANA SENIOR OLYMPICS CHAMPION for a second time, local archer Tony Bierwagen wears his first place medal in Kalispell August 2. The president of the local Thompson Falls Archery Club, Bierwagen is a nationally known archer and archery educator with numerous awards and honors from the sport to his credit. (courtesy photo)