DUBLIN, Ohio – The 2019 U.S. National Outdoor Collegiate Championships came to a close today with head to head individual matches contested in great, gusting winds. To summarize the day well, Liberty University’s Hala Skelton shared: “I was literally blown away.” Brackets blustered as a beautiful weekend finished with surprise upsets and underdog comebacks.
The field was filled with exciting headlines, including Texas A&M senior Keri Spiller winning the barebow women’s gold after picking up the discipline just two months ago and climbing from a 8thplace qualification seed to finish with the national title. “This weekend was amazing,” shared Spiller. “I’m just so excited to be here in the first place and to be able to compete on this level. The winds worked in my favor and I worked with them, I think the wind was a test for everyone and I’m so grateful that I figured it out as best as I could and I’m so excited about this win.”
University of Pikeville’s Katie Karr finished with the silver to a roaring and supportive crowd of teammates and Briley Hearrin of Kentucky Christian University won the bronze 6-0. The barebow men’s champion was Hocking College’s top seed Cole Luburgh after a tight race for gold over Emmanuel College’s Darren Bearde and UC San Diego’s Dan Nguyen took the bronze.
The recurve men’s bracket also saw surprising bracket shakeups as Christopher Plumeau of San Jose University came from 11thplace to win gold over 4thseed Nicholas Zhau of Georgia Institute of Technology after upsetting top seed Nathan Yamaguchi of Arizona State University in the semifinals. Penn College of Technology’s 7thseed Trevor Quarry then went on to win the bronze.
Top qualifier Eliana Claps of the University of Washington won the recurve women’s title after hard fought matches, including a 6-4 gold victory over Texas A&M’s Michelle Gilbert. Host state’s Emily Nelson of the Ohio State University won bronze.
Texas A&M also clinched the gold in the bowhunter women’s division with Andrea Zenger shooting lights out to win in tough winds. Helen McDonald of the University of the Cumberlands took silver and Holly Mangum of James Madison University won bronze.
Possibly the greatest upset of the weekend, 31stseed, Union College’s Jeffrey Grubb soared through matches today to win bowhunter men’s gold 131-130 over top qualifier Taylor Bell of Lindsay Wilson College. Texas A&M’s Judson Riley clinched the bronze.
University of the Cumberland’s Brooke Miller won compound women’s gold in a tight race against James Madison University’s Caroline McCracken, while Brogan Monroe of Oklahoma State University came from 10thplace to win bronze.
Denver Gross of Union College outscored 8thseed Hunter Carlton 141-137 to win compound men’s gold and Chak Kiu Lee of UC San Diego won bronze. Gross was also named to Team USA for the World University Games later this summer just yesterday. “This feels absolutely awesome,” commented Gross. “I just stayed in my shot, I made the best shots I could each time by focusing on the conditions.” On heading to Italy for the World University Games, Gross added: “I’ve been shooting archery since I was five years old and I can’t wait to represent the United States; it’s a dream come true.”
Complete results are available on USA Archery's Live Results page. Official photos can be found on USA Archery's photo site, and be sure to follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more from the event.
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