MEDELLIN,
Colombia - Team USA archery is back, and in a big way. The American compound
and recurve teams reasserted themselves at the third stage of the World Cup
this weekend, claiming five team and four individual medals, including a
first-ever individual World Cup medal for London 2012 Olympian Miranda Leek
(College Station, Texas).
In the
compound event, Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) took a gold medal win from
teammate and World No. 1 Braden Gellenthien (College Station, Texas), dropping
just nine points in very windy conditions, 141-136. Thanks to strong
performances from both archers, Team USA has Gellenthien and Wilde in the
number one and two World Ranking positions as of press time. The compound men's
team, featuring Gellenthien, Wilde and Rodger Willett, Jr. (Gloucester, Va.)
also took a team silver after a difficult - and very windy - final versus
France.
For the
women, Erika Jones (Grand Island, Neb.) earned a silver medal after a tough
match in the wind versus Alejandra Usquiano (COL) - and with her strong finish,
also claims the number one spot in the World Rankings once again. Jones also
worked with teammates Brittany Lorenti (Newtown, Conn.) and Carli Cochran
(Willow Street, Pa.) to achieve a gold medal in the team event, winning a World
Cup rematch with host country Colombia, 214-206.
The recurve
teams and athletes answered with medals of their own on Sunday. Both teams shot
their way into the bronze medal matches, and both succeeded in earning
hardware. The recurve men's team of Brady Ellison (Chula Vista, Calif.), Jacob
Wukie (Oak Harbor, Ohio) and Jake Kaminski (Gainesville, Fla.) reunited for the
first time since the 2012 Olympic Games, and turned out another medal-winning
performance versus the Canadian team, 218-209.
The women's
team, featuring London 2012 alums Khatuna Lorig (West Hollywood, Calif.) and
Leek (College Station, Texas), along with newcomer Michelle Gilbert (Bethesda,
Md.) had a tough opponent on their own hands with Mexico, a team featuring two
Olympic Team members of its own. However, Team USA started out strong and
finished the same way, edging out Mexico for the bronze medal, 207-196.
The recurve
mixed team of Ellison and Lorig also earned their spot in the gold medal match,
and faced two of China's best archers. Though Team USA started out with the
lead, windy conditions on the field made it a difficult competition. China was
able to open the door and win the gold medal, while USA claimed silver despite
their best efforts.
Leek finished
out the event for Team USA with a strong performance and a hard-fought silver
medal. Facing Inna Stepanova of Russia, Leek kept her calm despite gusting
winds to take an early lead in the match. Stepanova won the second and third
sets, but Leek tied the fourth, making it a 5-3 match. Though she was unable to
force a tiebreaker, Leek earned silver and her first-ever individual medal in
World Cup competition.
For complete
results, visit worldarchery.org. Team USA's next appearance on the World Cup
circuit is the fourth stage in Wroclaw, Poland in August.
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