Snellville, Ga. - Archery Learning Center hosted the third annual 25 Meter Fall Classic recently, with 77 archers from as far as Iowa gathering in Georgia to test their skills on the 60 centimeter multicolored target face. The 25-meter setup is an unusual round, and it provided competitors with a unique challenge to kick off the indoor season. Competition was hot among adult and youth archers, and Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) teams had a strong presence, with athletes from Newberry JOAD, Wasp JOAD, and the Georgia Archery Team joining the host Snellville Stingers JOAD in competing at this growing event.
The tournament held line times from Friday evening through Sunday and archers shot two 60-arrow rounds for score. Some impressive scores were turned in on the first day of shooting; junior male compound shooter Bridger Deaton led all scorers with an astounding 593. Other notables were Jonny Lennox with a 563 that led the men's master 60+ compound, and Matthew Weinstein turning in an outstanding 583 in the male bowman compound division. Other nationally competitive archers bringing their A-game to this event were World Archery Indoor Championships medalist Brandi DeLoach, and youth archers Jean Luc Espinet and Aaron Groce.
Sunday brought the second round and the conclusion of the tournament. Awards were presented to the top three archers in each class. This event featured a championship division in which archers could compete for money. Deaton took home the top prize for the men with an 1185 overall, and Kailey Johnston won for the women with an impressive 581 on Sunday to finish her weekend with an 1149. Complete results across all categories can be found here.
George Ryals IV, who heads up the Archery Learning Center and coordinates the Classic, said he expects the event to expand next year. Ryals indicated that plans are to hold the event at a larger location as attendance has steadily grown each year and he hopes for more opportunities for bigger prize winnings. All the proceeds from the event directly benefited the Archery Learning Center's JOAD club to use in the expansion of the facility and the growth it's JOAD club and other youth programs.
Submitted by Ryan Fitzgerald; edited by USA Archery
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