DARRINGTON, Wash. – USA Archery Field Nationals came to a close on Sunday afternoon, ending a weekend in which the fabulous course in Darrington proved as testing as it was breathtaking.
Competing in what he described as his favorite archery discipline, Brady Ellison produced what he believed to be a personal best in winning the recurve men, ahead of Matthew Nofel and Gabe Anderson.
“I love shooting field,” admitted Ellison. “I love walking around, and the entire element of what field archery is. I absolutely love it, so try not to miss it.”
Ellison drove from his home in Montana and slept on an air mattress in the back of his truck, and did not skip a beat, just a week after claiming mixed team gold at the World Cup Stage 3 in Colombia.
On Saturday, archers had to contest with 24 unmarked targets, positioned over a variety of unknown distances. They had three minutes to get off their three arrows. On Sunday, distances were known over the 24 marked targets, but they then had just two minutes to fire their arrows.
Molly Nugent claimed gold in the recurve women, with Ashley Nguyen taking silver. In the recurve 50+ men, locals swept the board. Gary Yamaguchi took gold, ahead of Larry Anderson and David Whitney.
Compound women was won by Paige Pearce, defeating fellow California archers Heather Gore and Priyanka Sarath. For Pearce, this form of the sport is close to her heart.
She said, “Field, 3D, safari is what I grew up doing, so I prefer this over the target stuff. It was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful range, the weather was awesome, it was a really good day.”
Ellison was also full of praise for the challenge posed by Darrington. He commented, “Darrington does an amazing job. Truly, they have some of the best courses in the US. They’re easy walking, their trails are well groomed, but you get some very technical field courses.
“The people that are in the clubhouse are absolutely amazing and kind. It’s one of my favorite field shoots to come to, and I love coming to Darrington.”
Cool temperatures and sunny skies made for perfect conditions throughout, with success also savored by Thanmay Sarath (compound U18 men), Breea Holman (compound U18 women), Tony Bianes (compound 50+ men), Carissa Craghead (compound 50+ women), Kyle McCormack (barebow men), Kari Caulfield (barebow women), Max Rossiter (barebow U21 men), Ellie Collins (barebow U18 women), Elliott Tecsi (barebow 50+ men) and Charlene Shelfer (barebow 50+ women).
Go to BetweenEnds for all the scores and results, while photo galleries can be found on USA Archery’s Smug Mug account.
