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HERRIMAN — Not even a recent eye surgery could prevent Kaylee Gurney from placing second in the world for her age at a prestigious international archery event held in Las Vegas last week.
Kaylee, 11, of Herriman, a sixth-grader at Butterfield Canyon Elementary, was one of 36 youth archery shooters to place among the more than 750 children who competed at the Vegas Shoot youth event last Saturday. She placed second in the girls cub division using a compound bow.
Her father, Scott Gurney, said Kaylee put together a personal-best 295 (out of 300) during the final round of the event, including the most X’s (much like a bullseye) she had ever shot in a round. That helped propel her to a spot on the podium.
“It was amazing,” Kaylee said, recalling the experience. She said she quickly ran off the podium and immediately embraced her dad and handed him the final target with her top score.
“It was pretty emotional,” Scott Gurney said, who added the moment left him speechless. “It was like the greatest weekend of my life.”
Kaylee’s personal-best performance is impressive considering she had just come off surgery to correct a lazy eye and a nasal surgery in late December. Both surgeries were minor in nature, but sidelined her ability to practice for weeks. Those were weeks competitors were out honing their skills before the Vegas Shoot.
The wait left the family on edge, but eventually, she was cleared to shoot again around the start of January. However, Scott Gurney said Kaylee put in the practice hours on her own to make up the difference.
The moment was also a culmination of work over the past four years in the sport. Kaylee started archery at 7 years old when she received a bow for Christmas. Immediately, she fell in love with it.
“I like shooting the X’s in the target,” Kaylee said.
She turned that love into skill. Prior to the Vegas Shoot, she placed first in the 2018 Utah Open and several other archery events across Utah.
Kaylee’s got big aspirations for the future, too. She won a $750 scholarship as a part of her second place finish last week. Kaylee is aiming to go to Texas A&M one day. She’d also like to qualify for the junior Team USA archery team when she’s 14 — the minimum age requirement, though the process can begin for children as young as 12.
Scott Gurney said he’s been impressed with his daughter’s work ethic. He said she shoots 100 to 200 arrows daily in between her schoolwork and house chores to work closer to that dream.
“She’s only 11 and she works harder than anyone I know in this sport,” Scott Gurney said. “We have this thing that we say, ‘work so hard that you don’t have to introduce yourself again’ and she’s out shooting every single day. She shoots out shooting every single day.”
With a successful Vegas Shoot performance behind her, the odds seem ever in Kaylee’s favor that she soon may not have to introduce herself within the archery community again.
