ANTALYA, Turkey - Day one of the Archery World Cup Stage 1 produced a stunning performance from Braden Gellenthien, James Lutz and Sawyer Sullivan as they set a new world record in the compound men’s team event.
The trio are among 16 archers representing the United States in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya in Turkey. Their combined total of 2140 in the qualification round beat the previous high of 2137, set by Korea in Paris last June.
Sullivan scored 715, with Gellenthien (713) and Lutz (712) not too far behind. The new world best score is also now a new Americas record. That previously stood at 2133, having been achieved in Shanghai in 2016 by Alex Wifler, Steve Anderson and Reo Wilde.
The USA heads into Wednesday’s elimination rounds, where they will start in the round of eight against either Hong Kong or Norway. The gold medal matches take place on Saturday.
As individuals, the compound men also fared well. Sullivan took second spot in qualification, with Gellenthien (9th), Lutz (10th) and Kris Schaff (13th). The elimination rounds for the individual competition take place on Thursday.
In the compound women’s team event, the USA finished eighth in qualification with a total score of 2074. Madison Cox (699), Cassidy Cox (686) and Danelle Lutz (689) will face Kazakhstan in the round of 16 from 9.15am local time on Wednesday morning. Top seed India awaits the winners.
The US women’s team are joined in the compound division by Makenna Proctor. All four begin their elimination rounds on Thursday.
Madison Cox and Sawyer Sullivan finished seventh in the compound mixed team division, with 1414. They have a bye to the last eight where they will meet either Croatia or France. Elimination rounds in the mixed team event begin on Friday.
Recurve gets underway in Antalya on Wednesday. The USA is represented in the women’s division by Casey Kaufhold, ranked number five in the world, alongside Catalina GNoriega, Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez and Gabriella Sasai.
Kaufhold arrived in Turkey having triumphed at the Arizona Cup on Saturday. She said after that victory, “I’m glad this went well. I like to start (the outdoor season) on a strong note, so it’s good to have the momentum heading into the next event, because you really don’t have a whole lot of time to fix things in between.”
The recurve men include Brady Ellison, ranked four in the world. He will be joined in Wednesday’s qualification by Jack Williams, Matt Requa and Arizona Cup winner Jackson Mirich.
There are four World Cup stages, before the final in Mexico in September. As well as Turkey, there are stages in China, Colombia and France.
Stage 1: Antalya, Turkey – April 18-23
Stage 2: Shanghai, China – May 16-21
Stage 3: Medellin, Colombia – June 13-18
Stage 4: Paris, France – August 15-20
Final: Hermosillo, Mexico – September 9-10
