NEWBERRY, Fla. – The Easton Foundations Gator Cup welcomed an event record 673 archers for the second event of the 2022 United States Archery Team Qualifier Series. After thunderstorms drew out a long start to the day, the sun came out and youth archers returned to the fun and exciting competition for the U21 and U18 qualification rounds.
Several highly contentious divisions were tight all day, coming down to final arrows to determine qualification placement for tomorrow’s brackets.
“That’s how the cadets (now, U18) always are,” commented Dewey Hathaway; “It’s pretty cool, it’s awesome. Tomorrow I just have to make it work, that’s how it happens.”
Eunice H. Choi, who qualified first for the U21 recurve women at this year’s Indoor Nationals and Arizona Cup, keeps her streak alive, pulling into the top seed position today: “I think I struggled a bit at first with the wind, but towards the end I just tried to focus on my form and my shot and it worked out,” said Choi. On her mental game during the weather delays, she added: “I just try to relax, not stress about things, talk with my friends, like the guys; today was definitely a challenge.”
Facing another kind of challenge, Allison Roberts moved from past success in the compound division to the new fixed pins division, which was just introduced to the USAT series this year. Roberts, who has recently been enjoying 3D archery in addition to target shooting, shared: “It was good to try something new; I enjoyed it absolutely. I want to start shooting pins at 3D events, so I thought I’d try it out here. It was great shooting with new people, on a new field.”
USA Archery National Events Manager Sheri Rhodes commended the youth archers on their attitude and performance on the field today, praising the way they jumped back into competition when the weather passed: “They were really on it,” commented Rhodes. “The archers were ready to go again as soon as they got back from scoring, they kept spirits high and were really motivated to get their competition completed. It was a very enjoyable afternoon on the field, and we wish all the archers the best of luck in tomorrow’s matches.”
Complete results from today’s round and live scores throughout this weekend are available on Between Ends. Competition continues tomorrow morning with senior and 50+ qualification followed by youth elimination matches. Photos from the event are available on USA Archery’s SmugMug.
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