Yankton, South Dakota - Following an initial qualification through ranking at the National Target Championships, and a day of round robin match play, the team that will represent the United States at the Pan American Games has been selected. The same team will also represent the U.S. at the London Test Event, also slated for October.
On the men's side, the competition for the third spot literally came down to the last set in the match between Brady Ellison (AZ) and Jake Kaminski (NY). Showing the mettle that placed him fourth in the World Cup rankings earlier this year, Kaminski won his fifth match versus Ellison to secure the pivotal third spot on the team. He will be joined in October by Ellison, who had a standout performance today, winning every one of his matches except his match versus Kaminski for the top spot in team selections.
The second spot on the team was clinched by Joe Fanchin (CA), who suffered three losses in his matches today but was able to clinch the second spot thanks to FITA qualifying score bonus points, and having the second highest three arrow average score. Butch Johnson (CT) held the second spot for much of the day, winning five of his seven matches with the third highest three arrow average, but did not win FITA qualifying round bonus points, as did Kaminski, who took the third team spot by a half point, with his final match win versus Ellison.
For the women, Heather Koehl (WI) was the surprise of the day, narrowly taking the final spot over two time Olympian Jennifer Nichols (WY). Early in the day, the top three positions were occupied by Miranda Leek (IA), Khatuna Lorig (CA) and Nichols, with Koehl in the fourth position, but Koehl took three critical early matches versus Kristin Braun (CA), Nichols and Shannon Ostling (WA), that moved her up the rankings.
Lorig and Leek, who ultimately tied in the points for the top spot on the team, never really lost their hold on first place, winning all but two matches each. Nichols, ranked third thanks to her high FITA round finish and FITA qualifying score bonus points, began in the third posiiton, but Koehl was actually the most consistent archer today, winning six out of seven matches, with a three arrow average score that was on par with those of her competitors.
Ellison, Fanchin, Kaminski, Lorig, Leek and Koehl will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico for the Pan American Games, and the Olympic Test Event in London, in October of this year. Complete results from this team selection event are available at http://usarchery.org/resources/team-selection-results.
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