Hamilton, Ohio - There is a phenomenon in competitive archery circles known as the "archery family." It's a term used to describe the often lifelong friendships formed between people who have a shared love of shooting a bow. There is no USA Archery tournament at which this phenomenon is more prevalent than the tournament often simply referred to as "Nationals" - which, this week, includes the 128th National Target Championships and Easton JOAD Nationals.
On a hot field under clear skies at Joyce Park in Hamilton, Ohio, 537 archers gathered today to shoot the first official day of the competition following the event's official opening ceremonies and official Olympic Day celebration last night. Of the 537 archers who are competing this week, 357 are registered for the Easton JOAD Nationals, with 169 of those archers competing in cadet categories.
For the adults, this week actually offers two separate tournaments: the National Target Championships, consisting of a four-distance "FITA" round shot over two days, and the Hoyt World Open, an elimination round event which uses the scores from the National Target Championships for seeding. For those competing in the Easton JOAD Nationals ("JOAD" referring to Junior Olympic Archery Development, USA Archery's nationwide youth archery program), the format is a bit different: two 72-arrow ranking rounds shot at a single distance, followed by a team event on Friday and elimination rounds on Saturday.
National Champions in the senior and masters categories are crowned based on their scores from the two-day, four-distance National Target Championships event; Hoyt World Open winners are determined separately and based on their finishes in that elimination-style event only. The youth archers, however, are competing for the title of Grand National Champion - a title earned by virtue of placement in the ranking rounds, participation in the team event, and finish in the elimination rounds.
A scoring issue today prevented accurate reporting of results for the youth recurve women and youth compound men at the time this article was posted. There were complete results, however, for the categories reported below:
Julia Ackey (NY) is the top scoring compound bowman woman for today with a 607. Brooke McDonald (OH) is close behind with 604, while Breanna Rutkowski (OH) posted a 558 for today's third spot. Georgia's Jordan Locklin and Alison Estrada hit 672 and 632, respectively, in the compound cub women's group, while Molly Clawson (OH) rounded out the top three with her 619.
Emily Fischer of Texas hit a 672 to hold the top ranking for the compound cadet women after today's scoring session. She's joined in the top three by Emily Bee and Hunter Jackson, both of Michigan, shooting scores of 666 and 663. For the compound junior women, Gabrielle Cyr (ME) shot a 673 to finish today on top, while Lexi Keller (WI) and KayLeigh Rogers (TX) finished in second and third with 666 and 653.
For the recurve bowman men, Brian Bullis (AZ) is currently in first after 72 arrows at 30 meters with a 673 Yu-Wei Liu and Yuan-Bang Lo, both of Chinese Taipei, are holding second and third with 646 and 645, respectively. The recurve cub men are currently led by Ryan Oliver (FL) with 645; Ralph Lawton (PA) shot a 633 to hold second for today, while Cody Offchiss (OR) hit a 609 for third.
Collin Klimitchek (TX) shot a 646 for the top recurve cadet men's spot today, while Eliot Simon (NY) holds second with a 640. They are joined in the top three by Jonathan Pelletier (CT) with his score of 639. For the recurve junior men's group, it's Sean McLaughlin (OH) on top, shooting a 643, while Benjamin Chu (NY) and Nathan Yamaguchi (AZ) currently round out the top three with 622 and 620.
For the barebow masters 50+ women, Liz Coombe (OH) shot a 427 while still coordinating concessions at the field as part of the Cincinnati Junior Olympians club. In the compound fingers - masters 70+ men's category, it was Jake Veit (GA) shooting a 512 for first. In the compound fingers - masters 60+ men's group, Ray Laramie (CT) posted a 556; Dave Hryn (NY) shot a 640 today in the compound fingers - masters 50+ men's category.
Tito Galvez (MN) posted a 554 in the para open compound men's category; Ed Patton (GA) hit a 365 for the para standing recurve men's group, while Kinga Kiss-Johnson (GA) shot a 524 in the para standing recurve women's category.
For the compound masters 70+ men, it was William Arledge (NE), Darrel Gehman (PA) and Jerry Wenzel (VA) who shot the day's top scores with 649, 645 and 575, respectively. The compound masters 60+ women's group was well-represented by the trio of Lynne Phelps (MI), Linda Huff (GA) and Mary Wenzel (VA), shooting 625, 590 and 566 for today.
Glenn Campbell (MI) topped the compound masters 60+ men's category today, shooting a 659, while Ted Lemanski (MI) and Jim Krumel (IN) were close behind, posting 651 and 650, respectively. In the compound masters 50+ men's group, it was Jim Beasley (MI) on top with 669, while Howard Moshier (OH) shot 660 to hold second, and Wayne McCollough, Jr. (PA) a 655 for today's third position.
Larry Skinner (MO) hit a 552 today, ranking first in the recurve masters 70+ men's category, followed closely by Dr. David Brandfass (FL), who shot a 549. Ronald McPherson (TN) was just four points behind with a 545, making it a tight race in this group. Paula Prichard (OH) is on track in the recurve masters 60+ women's group, shooting a 476 today, while Ted Light (MD), Tom Booth (MI) and Jacques-Andre Morin of Canada were atop the recurve masters 60+ men's category, postings scores of 583, 563 and 549.
For the recurve masters 50+ women, Connie Kochert of Ohio is out front with a 580 after the first two distances today; Elzbieta Tworek (TN) and Mary Twombly (CO) shot scores of 550 and 501 to hold the second and third spots. In the recurve masters 50+ men's group, 1984 Olympian Glenn Meyers (MI) is ahead of the pack with a 629; David Wearne (NE) and Gary Yamaguchi (AZ) are in second and third, respectively, with 611 and 600.
The compound women's group was led today by Erika Anschutz (NE), shooting a 699 after coming off a World Cup team silver medal win with teammate Jamie Van Natta (OH), who's in second with a 689. Samantha Neal (NY) posted a 683 today to hold third. For the compound men, it's Garrett Abernathy (SC) who topped his group with a 695; Braden Gellenthien (VA), who recently qualified for the World Cup Final, holds second with a 692. Reo Wilde (ID), who just became the first compound archer ever to win four consecutive World Cup stages, is currently third with a 691.
Five-time Olympian Khatuna Lorig (CA) led the recurve women today, shooting a 666 for the top spot, while teammate Miranda Leek, preparing for her first Olympic Games, hit a 659 for second. Heather Koehl (WI), the Olympic Team alternate who helped her team to qualify for London, holds third with a 653. The recurve men are led by two-time Olympian Brady Ellison (AZ), who shot a 660; five-time Olympian Butch Johnson (CT) shot a 653 for second, unofficially breaking his own masters' world record with a 320 at 90 meters while shooting as a senior. Olympian Jake Kaminski is currently third, shooting a 643 for the first two distances.
Look for the competition to get even hotter as archers continue to vie for National Championship titles on Thursday, and as young archers from across the country seek to finish the ranking round on top. Follow results live online at http://ianseo.net/Details.php?toId=275 for the National Target Championships, and at http://ianseo.net/Details.php?toId=284 for the Easton JOAD Nationals. USA Archery is posting event photos on Facebook, and posting updates throughout the week - and throughout the rest of this exciting Olympic and Paralympic season - via Twitter @usaarchery.
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