Canton, MA - The historic Prowse Farm, seated in the Blue Hills of Canton, Massachusetts, was the setting for the Nor'easter - USA Archery's third USAT Qualifier Series Event of 2012. Presented by stabilizer company B-Stinger, the Nor'easter allowed the country's top archers, as well as many newcomers, to showcase their shooting skills under clear skies and in breezy conditions.
The event opened with a 72-arrow, 70 meter qualification round for recurve archers and a 72-arrow, 50 meter qualification event for compounders. Cadet archers, who also participated, shot the same round at 60 meters.
This qualification round seeded Miranda Leek (IA), newly nominated to the U.S. Olympic Team, in first with a 654; she was followed by teammate Khatuna Lorig (CA) with 649 and U.S. Olympic Team alternate Heather Koehl (WI), shooting a 628. Brady Ellison (AZ), the world's top ranked archer, hit a 670 for the top spot, while Joe Fanchin (CA) and Jake Kaminski (NY) qualified second and third with 664 and 661 respectively.
On the compound side, Erika Anschutz Jones (NE), who has topped her category internationally since last year, led the field with a 690; Jamie Van Natta (OH) was twelve points behind in second with 677. Sarah Lance (MI) hit a 675 for the third position. For the men, it was Jesse Broadwater (PA) shooting a 707 for the first position, while Reo Wilde (ID) was just a point behind with a 706 in second. Logan Wilde (UT) shot a 703 to round out the top three.
Junior archers in compound and recurve categories qualified against one another but were combined with the seniors for bracketing purposes. For the compound women, it was Lexi Keller (WI) who shot the top score, hitting a 661; she was followed by Kayleigh Rogers (TX) and Julie Hoffman (NJ), who posted 650 and 648, respectively. The men's group was topped by Brandon Bessette-Agnew (NY), shooting a category-leading 669 for first, followed by Michigan's Torrey Bonham with 655 and Dustin Clark (FL) with 649.
The junior recurvers were led by Mackenzie Brown (TX), shooting a 621 to end in first. Ariel Gibilaro (CT) shot a 572 for second, while Washington State's Shannon Ostling posted a 566 to round out the top three. Chris Luman (GA) was the top scoring junior recurve male with 629; Chasen Hacking (WA) earned the second spot with 614, while Ben Chu (NY) took third with 578.
For the cadets, who earned USAT ranking points solely on their finish in the ranking round, it was Bianca Gotuaco (CA) who won her category with 619. She was followed by Elizabeth Caughell (WA) with 609 and Jenna Ahn, shooting a 604. For the cadet men, Collin Klimitchek (TX) led the pack with a strong 665, followed by Eliot Simon (NY), who posted a 644. Jake Ohlendorf (CA) followed in third with 625.
The cadet compound women were led by Emily Bee (MI) with her score of 662; Callie Gallant (ME) and Claire Estrada (GA) followed with 638 and 610, respectively. For the cadet compound men's group, it was Danny Button (WI) who edged out some strong opponents, shooting a 670 for first, while Greg Fink (MI) and Chris Bee (MI) posted 669 and 668 for the second and third spots.
All competitors were treated to a fun team event on Saturday afternoon, and elimination rounds for seniors, juniors and cadets on Sunday. In the compound women's category, Anschutz claimed a gold medal victory over silver medalist Diane Watson (FL), while Carli Cochran (PA) took the bronze. For the men, it was Reo Wilde, Broadwater and Bridger Deaton (IA) who claimed medals - and the $1000, $500 and $250 cash prizes that were awarded to gold, silver and bronze medalists in the four senior categories.
The recurves had an all-Olympic final on the men's side, with Ellison facing off against team alternate Fanchin in the gold medal contest, which Ellison won, giving Fanchin the silver medal, and his first podium finish of 2012 in a USAT Qualifier Series event. Kaminski took bronze in a contest versus Jacob Wukie (OH). For the women, it was Leek who clinched the gold medal, versus Michelle Gilbert (MD), who took silver. Lorig won bronze in her matchup with Mackenzie Brown (TX).
Twelve cadet archers also claimed medals in their own elimination rounds, which did not count toward their USAT ranking but did allow them the opportunity to gain valuable match play experience with Easton JOAD Nationals just around the corner. Complete results from this event are available by clicking here; photos from the event are now at USA Archery's Facebook page.
The next events for the U.S. Olympic Team members are the Ogden World Cup June 18-24, followed by the National Target Championships; nearly 500 archers are now registered for the combined Easton JOAD Nationals and National Target Championships event, which is also the official sendoff for the U.S. Olympic Team. U.S. Paralympic Team members will compete instead in the Stoke-Mandeville Open as preparation for the Paralympic Games. Follow all of the action via Twitter and Facebook, and here at usarchery.org.
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