STAY UP TO DATE

USA Archery News

August 12, 2022

USA Archery Crowns 2022 National Champions

MALVERN, Pa. -- Champions were crowned on the second day of qualification at the 138^th USA Archery Target Nationals. Capping off 144 arrows, the competition wrapped up with beautiful conditions at the Greater Chester Valley Sports Complex.

Brady Ellison claimed another National title shooting 1348 in the recurve men’s division. Following up Ellison were Gabe Anderson and Matthew Nofel whom both scored 1319. “Yesterday was a little slow and a little flat. I hit nothing high but didn’t mess up any ends either – was just missing some 10s,” said Ellison. “Today I started off kind of flat again then had a couple of better ends. As the day went on, I started shooting better and better. I closed the last 36 shooting my bow a lot better than I had. I’m excited about the U.S. Open tomorrow and getting into it. This was 12 Nationals for me, so that was pretty cool.”

Casey Kaufhold extended her impressive lead from yesterday to finish off qualifications with a 1333. Catalina GNoriega scored 1283 for second followed up by Isabella Frederick, who celebrated her first podium finish.

Kevin Mather finished in front with a 1226 – a three-point lead over second-place Eric Bennett in the recurve open division. “The weather has been pretty awesome – probably the best full season we’ve had in a long time. Today I had a better mindset coming to the field and even though I struggled a little bit early on, I was able to overcome that, stay focused and shoot some really good scores to finish out the round.”

Toja Ellison headed to the top of the podium after shooting a 1403 alongside Paige Pearce and Linda Ochoa-Anderson. “Today’s winds were tricky again, but I’m happy with how I managed it and how my shots felt; it was enough,” said Ellison. “I have practiced a lot in these conditions so I’m not afraid of it; I take the same approach and was able to finish strong.”

The talent pool ran deep in the compound men’s division with second through tenth places all finishing within seven points of each other. However, James Lutz had a standout performance scoring 1424, a new world record pending verification. Lutz said, “I feel like I’m shooting better than I ever have right now. I have confidence in my bow from my first arrow to the very last.”

Maintaining his standing from day one in the barebow men’s division, John Demmer III finished the Nationals with a 1288 followed by Richard Stonebreaker with a 1280 and Matt Yacca with a 1246.

Fawn Girard was also able to preserve her lead among the barebow women to take first with a 1213 followed by Christina Lyons and Jaime Weber. “We had some wind this morning and the sun was a little brighter so it was reflecting a bit more,” explained Girard. “I had some issues with the first couple of ends when I felt like I was good but I wasn’t. Once my form clicked back in, though, I was good to go. If your form is consistent, your shooting will be consistent.”

Complete results are available on Between Ends and photos are on USA Archery’s SmugMug. Competition continues tomorrow with the U.S. Open. The senior gold medal matches will be streamed with Competition Archery Media.