Trout Creek, also known as the Huckleberry Capital of Montana, has fewer than 400 residents. One of those residents just earned national recognition as the top student archer in the western United States.
Sixteen-year-old James Lacy won top honors at the 2026 National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Western National Tournament in Utah this past April. The competition consists of two events – bullseye and 3D archery. He ranked first in a field of 1,232 boys, which qualifies him for the NASP Championship Tournament later this week in Daytona, Florida.
NASP is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among students in grades 4 through 12. Through it, students learn focus, self-control, discipline, patience and the life lessons required to be successful in the classroom and in life.
James and his younger siblings, Garrett, 12, and Delilah, 4, are homeschooled and are part of TCAC Homeschool Archery – a co-op where archery is taught as an elective to students. While NASP is strictly a school-based program, this dedicated group allows the homeschool students to participate competitively.
"We are incredibly proud to be the first and only homeschool NASP team in the state of Montana," said the team's coach Rachel Nottnagel. "One of our big goals is to use our experience to inspire and help other homeschool groups across the state get their own programs started."
James has only participated in competitive archery for two years. He competed at the Western Nationals last year but didn't do quite well.
"I was decent in 3D, but not in bullseye," he said. "Last year, nerves got to me real bad."
This year, he tackled his nerves and headed into the Western Nationals with the confidence to at least beat his score from the 2025 tournament.
"I'd been looking forward to it for a minute," he joked. "I was hoping to shoot a certain score or place high. But I was surprised, very surprised. I was hoping to qualify for the championship tournament in Florida, but I wasn't counting on it that much."
James will be accompanied to the championship tournament by Nottnagel and his little brother, Garrett. Garrett qualified in his age group for the bullseye event.
"Archery makes me do things instead of sitting around all day," Garrett said. "And I get to travel places."
Kiera, their mother, also appreciates the opportunity for her boys to participate and compete in an activity outside of the house with other kids their age. Delilah is part of the archery club, too, and the family refers to her as their junior coach. Kiera is not an archer and prefers to cheer on her family.
"I'm super excited for them," Kiera said. "When they put their minds to something, they pull it off."
James also will compete in the NASP Scholarship Shoot-off. During the shoot-off he will compete against the combined overall top five male and top five female archers from both the Eastern and Western Nationals. He is the only archer from the Western Nationals to qualify. The scholarship award levels are determined by the order of elimination during this shoot-off, with the first-place archer winning a $5,000 scholarship.
Nottnagel is not surprised by the Lacys' success. She said they have been practicing hard all year and continue to improve their skills.
"I believe to become a champion archer, it takes an extraordinary blend of dedication, grit and consistent hard work," she said. "It means falling in love with the process of improvement, not just the trophy. Success isn't just about a single moment of glory, it's about the hundreds of invisible hours put in when no one is watching."