DECATUR, Alabama - The U.S. Open Finals concluded tonight under the lights and the Easton JOAD Nationals elimination rounds featured an intense day of shooting and exciting head to head matches.
Janice Grellner took the master recurve women's gold: "It was a very good competition for me, they didn't just give it to us, we had to work for what we got. I learn something at every tournament I shoot, this tournament I learned a lot of mental control when I was shooting which has been a real struggle for me for a couple of years. I really owe a lot to my coach Larry Skinner and thank him for everything he has done to support me and teach me to make strong shots and stick with it. I'm very personally satisfied with how I shot this week."
For the recurve women's final, five-time Olympian Khatuna Lorig took on Korea's Lee Seung Eun. The match was close and came down to the last arrow where Lorig needed gold to force a shoot-off but Lee took the win in the fifth set and the gold. Mackenzie Brown took the bronze in a 7-3 match with Anna Miscione.
Collin Klimitchek clinched the gold in a match with 2012 Olympian Jacob Wukie. He commented: "I knew exactly what I had done, it just went through the clicker a little fast and I didn't have time to settle so I knew what I needed to do for the next shot, I just had to refocus. With set system, you can get away with fudging an arrow, so it's all about focusing on that next shot and making sure it's a strong one." Hamilton Ngyuen took the bronze over Jake Kaminski.
For the compound senior women, Toja Ellison took the gold over Lexi Keller in a thrilling match that was tied after four ends. With lots of noise in the stands from a large crowd of fans, Toja commented on how she stays calm between ends: "I am just trying to make good, strong shots in my head and focus on how they're going to hit the middle. I also concentrate on what Brady (Ellison, Toja's husband and coach) is saying. I'm always trying to think about what I'm going to do the next end and how I can improve on the last end and I always can't wait to get back on the line!" Erika Jones finished with the bronze in her return year to USA Archery.
Tate Morgan took the gold men's compound win over Paul Tedford: "I just had to give it a couple clicks for the lighting. I was just trying to keep square in my peep, I was starting to dip down a little low so I just gave it a couple clicks and adjusted for it. To stay sharp all day after a long day like this, I just keep my head in the right position and not think about too many things at once, drink a lot of water and stay focused." Reo Wilde and Alex Wifler went head to head for the bronze and Wilde took the medal finish.
Several youth archers' matches concluded at nearly 11pm, including the junior barebow men. Ryland Hartman took the gold and shared: "Competition was really good today. It was a little bit of a struggle at the beginning and then at the end as I worked through all the practice ends it came together. The real challenge is waiting through the rain delays and then for the finals matches. It helps to stay in a competition mindset all the way through and to make sure you use your warm up ends the best you can."
Easton JOAD Nationals competition resumes tomorrow with team rounds and the Grand National Champion awards. Complete results from today are available here. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photo by Freedom Light Productions.
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