BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - Brookdale Park, site of the Gold Cup USAT Selection Event, always promises variable weather and swirling breezes, and this Memorial Day weekend was no exception. With Saturday morning's practice ends opening to chilly temperatures and overcast skies, the recurve women and compound men took to the field, hoping for strong qualification round scores. Following the first 36 arrows, four-time Olympian Khatuna Lorig held a narrow one-point lead over fellow U.S. Olympic team member Karen Scavotto, 316-315, with Stephanie Miller trailing with a 306. On the other side of the field, Dietmar Trillus (CAN) and Braden Gellenthien sat tied for first with 355, followed by 2009 world champion Reo Wilde with a 354.
Lorig retained her lead for the second 36 arrows, shooting a solid 334 for the second half to finish first in the qualification round with a 650. Scavotto, also with a strong second half, shot a 328, to finish second with a 643. Miller remained in third, shooting a 312 for an overall 618. The compound men saw some changes in the ranking from the first half to the second, with Wilde shooting a strong 357 for a 711 overall, followed by Trillus with 356, who also shot a 711 overall, but shot one 10 less than Wilde. Gellenthien, shooting a 351 for his second half, earned the third-place seeding with his 706.
The recurve women and compound men began their afternoon practice ends with clear skies and a light, variable breeze that picked up steadily as the day progressed. After the first 36 arrows, Thomas Stanwood was at the top of the recurve men with a 336, with five-time U.S. Olympian Butch Johnson in second with a 331, and U.S. Olympic teammate Brady Ellison just behind with 330. At the half, Jamie Van Natta held first for the compound women with a 348, followed by Erika Anschutz with a 345, and Christie Colin with a 342.
As the afternoon drew to a close, USA Archery resident athlete Jacob Wukie came back strong in the second half, shooting a 340 for a 665 overall, enough to secure the first-place spot. Though Ellison shot a solid 333 for a total 663, it wasn't enough to edge Stanwood out of second place, who tied Ellison's overall score, but shot 14, 10s to Ellison's 11. For the compound women, Anschutz stayed consistent with another 345, finishing in first with a 690 overall. Van Natta's 338 put her in second with a 686, and Marleigh Bogumil, who gained fourteen points from the first half to the second, with a 346 for her second thirty-six arrows, finished third with a 678.
As a Junior and Senior USAT selection event, the Gold Cup also hosted Cadet and Junior competitors, in compound and recurve divisions. For the Junior boy's, Peter Kelchner edged out Matthew Zumbo for first place on the recurve side, followed closely by Josh Smith. Emily Blake finished first for the junior girl's, with Georcy-Stephanie Thiffeault Picard (CAN) taking second, and Mackenzie Brown in third. Compound Bow-Junior boy's competitor Chris Perkins qualified first in his class, with Henry Bass and Chris Thompson just behind in second and third, respectively. For the junior girl's, Kailey Johnston was ranked first at the end of the day; Tristan Skarvan and Sarah Lance finished second and third.
Winners from the Cadet divisions were determined based on Saturday's qualifying round alone. Ariel Gibilaro won the Recurve Bow-Cadet girl's division, followed by Amber Phelps and Anjalie Field. For the Recurve Bow - Cadet boy's, Chris Luman took top honors, followed by Ben Chu and Alex Wifler. On the compound side, Alexander Sahi finished in first, with Ivan Harangozo and Tyler Yanak taking second and third; for the girl's, the winner was Cassandra Vallieres, with Amanda Cobucci and Julie Ann Hoffman finishing second and third.
For Junior and Senior division competitors, Saturday served as the ranking round for Sunday's eliminations, with Junior archers mixed in with the Seniors. The day dawned clear and hot, and competitors from all classes gathered to begin the process of narrowing the field. Recurve men started the day off with round of 16, followed by compound men, after which recurve and compound women took to the field at once. By noon, the quarterfinals had begun, with the sun shining hot, and the breeze blowing stronger by the minute.
Recurve archer Khatuna Lorig defeated Michelle Gilbert in three sets during her quarterfinal match; after five sets, and Pascale Payne (CAN) defeated Heather Koehl to move on to the semis. Stephanie Miller overtook Canada's Alana Macdougall to advance to her next match, while Karen Scavotto defeated Kateri Vrakking (CAN) in four sets. For the men, two-time Olympic medalist Vic Wunderle defeated first-seed Jacob Wukie following five sets, while Crispin Duenas (CAN) edged out Butch Johnson to advance to the semi-final match. Brady Ellison was also eliminated in the quarterfinals after four sets, by fellow resident athlete Jake Kaminski, while Dan Schuller defeated Thomas Stanwood, advancing after five sets.
On the compound side, Erika Anschutz won her match against Kendall Nicely, who retired after five sets. Christie Colin overtook Carli Cochran after four sets, while Diane Watson advanced after defeating Tristan Skarvan. Jamie Van Natta also advanced after five close sets with Sarah Lance. For the men, Junior Chris Perkins defeated World Champion Reo Wilde; Cody Thompson advanced after retiring Tony Tazza; Dave Cousins advanced after edging out Canada's Pierre Gremeaux, and National Champion Jesse Broadwater advanced after his match against Keith Trail.
The semifinals determined the competitors for the medal matches; Lorig and Miller won their matches against Payne and Scavotto, pitting Lorig and Miller against one another for the gold, and Scavotto and Payne for bronze. For the recurve men, Duenas edged out Wunderle, and Kaminski defeated Schuller, moving Kaminski and Duenas to the gold-medal match, and Wunderle and Schuller to the bronze. Compound archers Anschutz and Van Natta won their matches, putting them head-to-head for the gold, while Watson and Colin were positioned to compete for bronze. Cousins and Thompson advanced to the gold-medal match for the compound men, while Perkins and Broadwater would shoot against one another in the bronze match.
Staying strong through her match, Karen Scavotto defeated Payne for the bronze in women's recurve, while on the men's side, Wunderle secured his bronze medal after five close sets against Schuller. Diane Watson emerged victorious after four sets against fellow compound shooter Colin, while Broadwater stayed strong, winning the bronze for the compound men.
During the gold-medal matches, tied after five sets, Lorig and Miller kept spectators on the edge of their seats as they went head-to-head in a single-arrow shootoff; Miller shot an 8 to Lorig's 7, taking gold and silver medals, respectively. For the recurve men, Kaminski and Duenas also stayed close as they competed in five sets, with Kaminski taking the gold after two strong final sets. Erika Anschutz took gold for the women's compound against Van Natta (silver); for the men's compound, Cousins won all of his sets against Thompson, securing the gold and giving Thompson the silver.
The Bloomfield Archers and the New Jersey Archery Association hosted this annual event. For complete results visit http://www.bloomfieldarchers.com.
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