NIMES, France - If you think America's compound game is strong on the adult side, wait till you see the juniors. Delivering performances worthy of their senior counterparts, the U.S. junior compounders claimed five medals at the World Archery Indoor Championships, showing the world that the next generation is more than ready to carry the torch.
The compound junior men's team found out how gold medals taste after outshooting Italy by a whopping 12 points, 233-221. Bridger Deaton (Pella, Iowa), Dillon McGeorge (Loganville, Ga.) and Charlie Weinstein (Gardiner, Maine) seemed to enjoy every shot they took as they cruised to the world title.
Deaton went on to the bronze medal match for the individual competition, and with a bit of coaching from teammate Braden Gellenthien (Hudson, Mass.), took the win.
Emily Bee (Howell, Mich.), Lexi Keller (Omro, Wis.) and Brogan Williams (Stillwater, Okla.) claimed a silver medal after a challenging final with Turkey, 224-225. However, Keller shot her way to winning an individual bronze medal, and Bee earned silver, making this one successful junior team.
Senior teammate Erika Jones (Grand Island, Neb.) and team leader and World Champion Diane Watson (Hudson, Fla.) could also be seen lending support to the junior archers throughout their matches.
Today, it was the senior teams' turn to take to the stage, and they did not disappoint. You can see the matches here:
The men's compound team of Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho), Jesse Broadwater (Jennerstown, Pa.) and Gellenthien delivered a gold medal performance, clinching the world title after a showdown with a tough team from Denmark, 237-233.
The trio of Christie Colin (York, Pa.), Crystal Gauvin (Dayville, Conn.) and Jones also took hardware today, but it was a silver medal this time, after a tough back-and-forth match with Mexico that left the U.S. down by just a point in the end, 233-234.
Tomorrow, Team USA's Brady Ellison (Payson, Ariz.), Colin, Wilde and Broadwater will all bring their A-games to the stage for the individual finals. Look for an epic rematch between Ellison and Australia's Taylor Worth, who could provide the recurve match of the day during the bronze final.
Watch Sunday's individual finals, beginning at 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. EST) with Colin's bronze medal match, and again in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. EST) for Broadwater, Wilde and Ellison. Follow @USAArchery's live tweets throughout Team USA's matches. Is this your first World Championships? Check out Archery 360's guide to watching #WAIC2014.
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