COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Of the 20 names announced by World Archery Americas as being the region’s best archers of 2024, 13 were from the United States, including Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as World Cup medalists.
It was an impressive 12 months for all recipients of the archery awards. Brady Ellison was winner in the recurve men category. Among his many triumphs were individual silver and mixed team bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris. The mixed team bronze was alongside Casey Kaufhold, named winner in the recurve women U21. Kaufhold was Pan American champion in 2024 and also became the first female archer from the USA to be world number one.
Elsewhere in the recurve division, Hailey Franzone was named winner in the U18 women category. Among her highlights in 2024 was a bronze medal at the World Archery Field Championships in Canada in September.
James Lutz gave the complete performance in winning the World Cup last year, a year in which he also claimed the Indoor World Series and was deservedly award winner in compound men.
There were other US winners in the compound division. Among them were Sawyer Sullivan. He won three gold medals at World Cup Stage 2 in 2024, one of which was with Olivia Dean (U21 women). Dewey Hathaway (U18 men) and Rendyn Brooks (U18 women) were also recognized for their fine form last year. Hathaway won U21 men gold at the World Archery Field Championships, with Brooks taking U21 women bronze. The pair claimed mixed team gold at the same event.
Fawn Girard won barebow gold for the USA at the World Field Championships for the first time since Becky Nelson-Harris in 2008. She was named winner of Americas Archer of the Year in the barebow division.
Four Paralympians – Tracy Otto, Matt Stutzman, Jason Tabansky and Jordan White – were also among the winners. Stutzman and Tabansky were gold medalists in Paris. Tabansky and Otto were double gold medalists at the 2024 Para Pan American Games in São Paulo, Brazil, while White became the youngest Paralympic archer to represent the United States when competing in Paris aged 15.
On top of the Americas Archer of the Year Awards, there were also Special Recognition awards. Rick Riessle, the fiancé of Paralympian Tracy Otto, received the Volunteer Appreciation award, with the Archery Federation award going to USA Archery.
| Recurve Men: Brady Ellison | Compound Women U18: Rendyn Brooks |
| Compound Men: James Lutz | Barebow Archer: Fawn Girard |
| Recurve Women U21: Casey Kaufhold | Compound Men Open: Matt Stutzman |
| Compound Men U21: Sawyer Sullivan | W1 Men: Jason Tabansky |
| Compound Women U21: Olivia Dean | W1 Women: Tracy Otto |
| Recurve Women U18: Hailey Franzone | Para Youth Archer: Jordan White |
| Compound Men U18: Dewey Hathaway |
| Volunteer Appreciation: Rick Riessle | Archery Federation: USA Archery |
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