Archery is a sport dating back thousands of years.... a simple bow and arrow and careful aim at a single target. It's not exactly a sport most 11-year-old girls would find interesting.

In Horry County, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' Archery in the Schools program has given birth to a shooting star.

11-year-old Savannah Futrell recently placed 5th place in the country and 3rd in the world in the Archery in the Schools tournament for her age group.

"I never thought I'd be this good. I was surprised that I could get to state," she told us Thursday at her school, Burgess Elementary.

What's amazing is that before last January, Savannah had never picked up a bow and arrow. "One day I just wanted to join Archery Club and asked my mom for the $10 fee, and that's pretty much how it all started."

Her coach, Joanne Giampietro, said, "Anything that any of us who were coaching her gave suggestions, hints, she did it. And she just kept progressing and getting better and better and better."

So much better that after only 3 months in the club, Giampietro ranked Savannah as one of the top 5 archers in the school. "I've seen some that are natural, but she was exceptional. She went past natural."

She showed us how good she is, hitting 5 bullseyes with 5 arrows - one right after the other. Something she'd never done before.

"I'm really excited now," Savannah said, laughing, "but I'm going to have to do it again."

We have no doubt she'll keep hitting the mark... aiming for excellence.