CHULA VISTA, California - The 2018 Doinker SoCal Showdown crowned champions today as overcast skies opened for warm sun and some tricky winds.
Recurve master women's champion Susan Bock took her first USAT gold today and her son, Liam, also had a wonderful performance in today's competition. "Liam and I both shot personal bests this weekend, we both got further in eliminations than either of us has ever done so it's just been a fantastic weekend for both of us," commented Bock. "We fought the wind a little bit, but it's being here with this group of people that made us have such a great time. Archery is the greatest family ever!"
Also taking her first USAT gold, compound junior Caroline McCracken shared, "It's really relieving because eliminations are anyone's game, and I've had it where I've qualified first or second and gotten knocked out in the first round. This has always been a huge goal of mine and I've been so close before but hadn't gotten it yet so it's a big weight off my shoulders and I feel like I'm ready for anything now!"
On her success, McCracken added, "I received some great advice from my coach George Ryals at Archery Learning Center about my shot process and I just started to work on that and it hit and I just started rolling through my matches, especially when the pressure turned on."
The compound senior men's division saw Matt Sullivan take his second consecutive USAT gold after winning Gator Cup last month. Winning this medal was no small feat, upsetting World No. 1 Stephan Hansen of Denmark in two consecutive one-arrow shoot offs in the final match in a highly competitive bracket.
"I got that first one off and the first one is easy, the second one is when you start thinking about it too much. I managed to get a good shot off and I'm happy," commented Sullivan. "I think I'm just looking forward to nationals, I'd like to podium at nationals but I try not to get too far ahead of myself and focus on one shot at a time."
Cassidy Cox was also the only U.S. archer on the compound senior women's podium, finishing with bronze behind gold medalist Linda Ochoa-Anderson of Mexico and silver medalist Tanja Jensen of Denmark.
Top recurve men's qualifier Jack Williams took his first USAT senior gold defeating Brady Ellison 7-1 for the title while Resident Athlete Joony Kim finished with bronze. Mackenzie Brown topped the women's podium after a 6-0 final victory over last year's champion LaNola Shepherd. 14-year-old Casey Kaufhold upset Khatuna Lorig in a strong finish to win bronze and to claim her second USAT podium finish in her debut season shooting as a senior.
Complete results from the competition this weekend can be found on USA Archery's Live Results Page. Photos from each day are available here. Join the fun with #DoinkerShowdown and follow USA Archery Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more from the event.
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