Lyons Couple on Target at National Senior Games
Tuesday, July 24 2007
Liz and Chuck Galusha
LYONS - What started as a way for Chuck Galusha to improve his bow hunting skills has turned into a lifelong sport for Galusha and his wife Liz, and it’s earned them national accolades.
At the end of June, the Galushas, of Lyons-Marengo Road, traveled to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the National Senior Games. Chuck won the silver medal for his age bracket, 55-59. Liz won the gold for hers, 50-54, and set a high score record for the day and a high score aggregate two-day total.
She shot an 861, bettering the old record of 852.
The Galushas also hold the current aggregate records for their style of shooting and age brackets and Chuck holds the aggregate records for compound fingers in both the 50-54 and 55-59 age groups.
Liz Galusha said her husband took up archery to become a stronger bow hunter, and she soon joined him in the pursuit. The Galushas have been shooting in tournaments since the mid-1970s. It was the third time that Liz participated in the National Senior Games, and the fourth for her husband.
“He’s a little bit older than me,” she said.
In her previous showings, at the 2003 games in Virginia and the 2005 games in Pittsburgh, Liz also took gold medals.
The games focus on many individual and team sports including basketball, softball and tennis, Liz Galusha said. People compete in different age groups, which she said is beneficial because their skills may diminish, as a person gets older.
There were more than 350 competing archers at the National Senior Games for 2007. To get there, the Galushas qualified at the Empire State Games in 2006 by placing among the top five competitors in their events. Chuck is a finger shooter and Liz uses a mechanical release.
The couple shoots once a week at the Buckskin Bowmen Club in Waterloo, but to prepare for the competition, they spent two hours a night shooting at their home.
The Galushas have always looked upon archery as a family sport. Their daughter, now 25, would shoot with them while she was growing up, Liz said.
Both Liz and Chuck are avid hunters; Liz said she prefers bow hunting to using a gun.
“We just love to be out in the woods,” she said.
Liz is a cafeteria worker at Lyons Central School, where her husband is a custodian. Liz also works as a desk clerk at the Lyons Public Library.
Librarian Theresa Streb said she was thrilled to hear that the Galushas had once again won medals.
“How many people from Lyons do things like this and get a national honor?” Streb said. “I think it’s great.”
Liz said she’s not sure about going to the games in 2009, which will be held in San Francisco. She said typically there is one day of practice and two days of shooting, but because she and her husband shoot different styles, they’re not the same days. There are also days that have to be blocked out in case there are weather delays, which won’t leave them much time for sight-seeing.
“One of us might have to switch shooting styles,” she said.
| No previous subhead |
| |
No next subhead |
No comments have been posted.
|
