CINCINNATI, Ohio - The U.S. National Indoor Championships Final, March 15th in Cincinnati, Ohio is a spotlight showdown features the best of the best, as the top eight archers in each category go head to head in elimination matches for over $70,000 in prize money, with payouts to all places.
Yesterday we took a look at the barebow lineup and today we will check out the recurve men and women who will compete on the big stage this Friday.
Brady Ellison (Globe, Arizona) has been not only one of the world’s best archers for over a decade, but an overwhelmingly strong leader on the national stage for much of his career, ranked 1stsince 2007. The three-time Olympic medalist took silver at the inaugural Indoor World Series final last month and is feeling ready for Cincy.
Seeded 2nd for the Final is Glen Thomas (Mercer, Pennsylvania). This dark horse contender boasts great success from his collegiate years at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Thomas has represented the U.S. at two Summer Universiades in 2009 and 2011 and in 2008, competed for Team USA at the World Archery Youth Championships. Thomas posted a perfect 300 in qualification and will be one to watch.
Olympic medalist Zach Garrett (Wellington, Missouri) has staged a solid indoor season, capped with a 9th place finish at the first Indoor World Series Final. Garrett put together an 1180 in qualification, ranking 3rd, just 3 points behind Ellison.
U.S. Archery Team’s No. 2 Jack Williams (Irvine, California) is seeded 4th is the reigning world youth team champion. Williams was a dominant player in the 2018 indoor season, and if he and Ellison win their first matches, they'll meet in a hotly anticipated semifinal.
Resident athletes and 5th and 7th seeds Matthew Nofel (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and Alex Bourdage (Burnsville, Minnesota) made their World Cup debuts for the U.S. last season. Bourdage took 3rd at this event last year and with both training full time, they’ll look to make runs at the podium.
Impressive youth standouts: seeded 6th, Alex Gilliam (Grayson, Georgia) is the National Indoor Champion of the junior division and 8th seed Dallas Jones (Brooklyn, New York) is the National Indoor Champion of the cadet division.
Top female qualifiers Casey Kaufhold (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) and Erin Mickelberry (Bothell, Washington) will have byes into the semifinals and are guaranteed at least $1,000 in prize money. Kaufhold is the defending silver medalist, and with an 1160/1200 qualifying score, the fifteen-year-old caps a stellar indoor season after making her senior international debut in the Archery World Series with several top finishes, including 4th place in the Final last month.
With 21 years practicing archery, Mickelberry has more years of experience than any other woman in the lineup. She has been a high ranking national indoor contender over the last decade in the collegiate and senior divisions and has represented the U.S. Archery Team in world cups.
Olympian Mackenzie Brown (Flint, Texas) is ranked 3rd for the final. Defending champion Brown is back and ready to repeat her win. While we didn’t see much of Brown this season as she focused on training over indoor competition, history shows she will be a top contender in Cincinnati.
At just fourteen years old each, Brianna Laux (Lowell, Michigan) and Whitney Jensen (Peoria, Arizona) are young contenders in the lineup. Both posted impressive 1136s in qualification to finish 1st and 2nd for the cadet women and 5th and 6th for the combined rankings. Resident Athlete and Senior USAT archer Megan Tan (Montgomery, Texas) rounds out the brackets after scoring an 1132 in qualification.
To follow the Final on Friday, March 15th, tune in to USA Archery’s live results page for scores as the quarterfinals begin at 1:10pm ET. The gold medal matches will be available on Competition Archery Media’s YouTube channel at 2:15pm ET. Stay tuned to www.usarchery.org for previews of compound divisions as we gear up for the Final.
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