DUBLIN, Ohio – Fifteen gold medals were won on day two of the Buckeye Classic, with more to follow on Sunday when the seniors and masters take center stage.
Jacob Robinson added the Buckeye Classic to the previous USAT Qualifier Series event, which was the SoCal Showdown in June. He overcame second seed Jack Krengel in the recurve U21 men.
Samantha Ensign – runner-up at the SoCal Showdown and winner at Gator Cup – captured the recurve U21 women, defeating 13th seed Erin Flores in the gold medal match.
SoCal Showdown winner Eli Bartron toppled number one seed Isaac Sullivan in the compound U21 men, while Alicia Aviles – fourth at the Arizona Cup in April – overcame top seed Lanie Nish in the compound U21 women.
Landen Witmer finally got his hands on gold in the compound U18 men. He won silver in 2021 and bronze last year.
Other highlights include a convincing 6-0 win in the barebow U21 men for John Sarazin, and a one arrow shootoff victory in the barebow U18 men for Jacob Olmstead.
Adam Curran was a comfortable winner in the fixed pins U18 men, defeating Carl Brooks 132-116. Jayden Azbill has now won three of the four USAT events this year following her win in the fixed pins U18 women over Maddison Stratton.
A maximum on the final end was the difference for Leann Drake as she fought off a stubborn Ella O’Brien to claim gold in the compound U18 women, 143-139.
Anastacia Godman battled back to beat her good friend Abigail Sparpaglione 6-4 in the barebow U21 women, while top seeds Isabell Lehsten and Ela Smallcombe took the honors in the barebow U18 women and fixed pins U21 women respectively.
Sunday’s action is set to be as intriguing, with Trenton Cowles the leading seed in the recurve men after Saturday’s qualification, which played out in windy and trying conditions. Double Olympic gold medalist, Justin Huish, is the second seed. The Olympic champion in individual and teams from the Atlanta Games in 1996, Huish matched Cowles’ score of 648 but Cowles managed more 10s.
And there is a top quality field assembled in the compound women, led by Paige Pearce, who is sure to be challenged by any one of Tanja Gellenthien, Carson Krahe, Cassidy Cox, Sydney Sullenberger, Danelle Wentzel-Lutz, or Makenna Proctor, who is competing in her home tournament.
Nick Kappers and Sawyer Sullivan are both competing in the compound men’s event, coming through qualification as the second and sixth seeds, before heading to Berlin for the World Archery Championships, which begin next week.
Qualification was close in the barebow men, with just two points splitting the top three of Richard Stonebraker (588), Alex de Vera and Jordan Graham (both 586).
Francesca Benavidez, who set a new U18 and U21 world record (pending verification) at the JOAD Target Nationals earlier this month, topped qualification in the barebow women with a score of 552, four better than Diane Cochran.
USA Archery will live stream the senior gold medal matches across barebow, compound and recurve on Sunday afternoon, from 2pm ET.
A full list of scores, as well as target details for day two, can be found on BetweenEnds website. There is also a gallery of images from the Buckeye Classic on USA Archery’s SmugMug page.
The United States Archery Team (USAT) Qualifier Series are outdoor archery tournaments that deliver a high level of excitement and competition! USAT Qualifier Series Events are open to archers who are seeking national competition experience and want the excitement of competing alongside World Champions and Olympic medalists.
