King of Prussia, PA - Braden Gellenthien (VA) unofficially broke two new FITA Star records at the World Archery Indoor Championships Team Trials today, shooting a 599 for the second half of the double 60 arrow ranking round, and 1197 overall. He was one of two archers who posted record pace numbers, with two time Olympian Jennifer Nichols reportedly coming within one point of her own top score. All of the archers competing today showed strong determination to make the World Archery Indoor Championships Team, which will travel to Las Vegas next month to compete with teams from across the world in the World Championships event.
"It feels great," commented Gellenthien, when asked how he felt about today's performance. "I've been training a lot lately; I've kind of been modeling myself after the recurve training regimen, shooting for five hours per day, hundreds of arrows, and it's really awesome to see it paying off." Gellenthien was joined in his category by World Champion Reo Wilde (ID), in second with 1193, and Jimmy Butts (NY), who took third with 1184. The top 8 in the compound men's group was rounded out by Logan Wilde (UT), Tim Hanley (NJ), Joseph Hershberger (OH), Rod Menzer (WI) and Adam Gallant (ME).
For the compound women, Christie Colin (PA) was tops with her score of 1168. She was just ahead of Erika Anschutz (NE), who shot 1167, and Tristan Skarvan (WI) with 1161. The top three women will be shooting tomorrow with Stephanie Gallagher (PA), Samantha Neal (NY), Seneca Francis (UT), Diane Watson (FL) and Babette Peyton (IL).
The recurve men were led by Brady Ellison (AZ), who shared the top spot with Jake Kaminski (CA) during the first part of the day, with the two archers going back and forth for the number one position. Ultimately, it was Ellison who came out on top, shooting 1184 for first, with Kaminski taking second with 1178. Jacob Wukie (OH) ended his day in third with 1170. Victor Wunderle (NC), Dan Schuller (PA), Joe McGlyn (NY), Dan Anderson (AZ) and Matt Requa (TX) will join them in the round robin matches tomorrow.
Nichols (TX), currently first for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, ended today in the lead after a challenging contest with Miranda Leek (IA), who also occupied the top position for part of the day. Nichols shot 1155, followed by Leek with her 1145, and Resident Athlete Heaher Koehl (WI), who posted a score of 1121. They will shoot for the top three spots tomorrow, along with Brandi DeLoach (GA), Holly Stover (MI), Janis Grellner (MO), Anna Harrington (NY) and Brandi Mantha (NJ).
The largest category that competed today was the recurve junior men, boasting 23 total competitors.
It was a double victory in this group for the Ohio-based McLaughlin family; twin brothers Sean and Daniel took the top spots, shooting 1165 and 1157 respectively. Jeremiah Cusick (WA) took third in this group with 1137; also shooting for World Championships Team berths will be Matthew Zumbo (CA), Chris Luman (GA), Ben Chu (NY), Ben Lewis (CT) and Josh Moskow (CT).
"I'm pretty confident," Daniel McLaughlin noted prior to the beginning of competition. "I'm shooting pretty well right now; I'm kind of in the middle of some technique changes to get ready for outdoor, but I'm excited." When asked about how he's training differently, McLaughlin commented on the balance between academics and archery: "since I'm still in school, and I have to compete against guys who are training full time, I'm trying to train smart, because I can't train longer than my competition, so I have to train smarter if I want to get ahead."
In contrast, just seven young women competed in the recurve junior women's group. However, strong scores led the pack, with Ariel Gibilaro (CT) posting 1117 and Junior Dream Team member Lanola Pritchard (CA) shooting 1105. Sarah Bernstein (NJ) followed with 1013. Joining them in the top eight were Kai-Lou Yue (MA), Alice Buswell (MA), Lianne Yun (CT) and Lauren Meyer (NJ).
Bridger Deaton (IA) leads the compound boys' group going into the round robin matches tomorrow, posting 1180 for today. Garrett Abernathy (SC) followed with 1173, while Hunter Barthels (TX) shot 1168. Ben Cleland (OH), Connor Kelly (CA), Greg Fink (MI), Andrew Everett (MD) and Levi Cyr (ME) round out the top eight archers.
For the junior compound women, Sarah Lance (MI) was the top archer today with a strong 1167. Carli Cochran (PA) was consistent enough to hit an 1153, while Allison Williams (TX) shot an 1148 to secure the third spot. Lexi Keller (WI), Callie Gallant (ME), Gabrielle Cyr (ME), Kannsas Michaels (PA) and Hunter Jackson (MI) will also join the match play competition tomorrow.
This weekend's competition is hosted by Middletown Junior Olympians at Competitive Edge Sports in King of Prussia. Complete results from today's Ranking Round may be found at http://www.ianseo.net/TourData/2012/239/IC.php. Follow USA Archery on Facebook and Twitter for exclusive event photos and up to the minute updates throughout tomorrow's round robin match play, which will determine the members of the 2012 World Archery Indoor Championships Team for the United States.
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