Freshman Colton Pasquale has dedicated his time to archery, a sport in which the competitors shoot a bow and arrow at a target and try to earn the most points.

“My favorite part is probably when you’re holding the bow string back,” Pasquale said. “There’s a lot of tension right before you’re about to let it go.”

Pasquale has participated in the sport for years and got his first bow only a few years ago.

“I’ve been doing archery since I was about 5, but I didn’t actually get my own bow until about four years ago,” Pasquale said.

The sport doesn’t require traveling to a location to practice. As long as the participant has a bow, arrow and a safe target, he or she can practice at home.

“I’m about to start practicing in my back yard again,” Pasquale said. “When I’m in competition, we go to the Tri-County Rod and Gun  Archery Club in Gardner.”

Pasquale advised that anyone interested in the sport needs to be able to save money for the expensive equipment.

“You have to raise a lot of money to buy a bow,” Pasquale said. “They are very expensive. A good bow usually costs around $500 to $700. Really, the cheapest good bow you can buy is about $300.”

Pasquale said that in order to get his own bow, he has had to give up many of his past birthday and Christmas presents.

In the end, for Pasquale, the most intense part is waiting on results.

“Finding out my score is the worst part actually,” Pasquale said. “Probably because I never know if I did good or not during the entire thing. It all adds up to that moment.”