PHOENIX, Ariz. – An unforgettable AAE Arizona Cup wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, bringing to a close an event which produced its fair share of shocks and surprises at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility.
While a new-look Brady Ellison was winning his 10th Arizona Cup in recurve men, Marcus Cooley was making it three in a row in barebow men, while Kay Earls and Gabrielle Sasai claimed their maiden wins at this event in barebow women and recurve women respectively.
Elsewhere, James Lutz readied himself for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Florida next week with success in the compound men division, which included a semifinal win over defending champion Mathias Fullerton. And Paige Pearce claimed the compound women’s crown for the first time since 2022, overcoming Makenna Proctor.
Ellison against Jackson Mirich was the last match of the event, which is the first of four in the USAT Qualifier Series. Mirich, the gold medalist in 2023, shot some great arrows but Ellison would not be denied, at an event he first won back in 2007.
The 6-0 scoreline does not tell the entire story, as Mirich fired in three ends of 28. When faced with the legend that is Ellison, the margin for error is far smaller, with the 36-year-old firing in 29, 30, 29 for the win.
Ellison has lost 30 pounds in body weight since winning silver and bronze at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris. Overall, he is 56 pounds lighter since committing to a leaner look. He went from a ring size 11 to a nine, and the change has meant adjusting significant aspects of his game.
“The adjustment has been insane,” Ellison began. “I started to notice the difference indoors, in January, when I started rebuilding stuff.
“Things quit fitting in the way that I was used to, and I’ve been fighting my anchor and body position and trying to keep draw lengths.
“I still have a long way to go but in just the little bit that I’ve seen, I think this is going to get rid of a lot of the left and rights that I’ve had over the years. Today I didn’t have any up and downs, it was just a little bit left/right in the wind so I do think that if I can get this mastered I’m probably going to shoot better than I ever have.”
Windy weather was again an additional challenge for archers in Arizona but that did not prevent Paige Pearce from securing her place in the gold medal match with a perfect score of 150. Her win came against top seed, Kaylee Gurney, the 17-year-old who defeated her at the USA Indoor Nationals Final last month.
“That was actually my first 150 ever, which is sad to admit, because I’ve been doing this for so many years,” said Pearce. “But I’ve never even been close. Normally I’ll miss one first end or second end, and end with a 149. Today I obviously made it and that last arrow my hands were shaking 10 times more. I really, really wanted that.”
The shocks and surprises came in the recurve women and barebow women category. Defending champion Casey Kaufhold was knocked out 6-0 at the 1/16 stage by Savannah Nofel (nee Vanderwier), the archer she had beaten in the 2023 quarterfinals in 2023 and in the semifinals in 2022. Kaufhold’s teammate at the Paris Games, Catalina GNoriega, also went out at the 1/16 stage with Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual winner Sasai.
Sasai took a 4-0 lead over Nofel, who fought back to make it 4-4, before the 19-year-old from Washington state kept her nerve in the fifth end as the elements sent Nofel’s final arrow astray.
Earls met Elizabeth Howe in the final of the barebow women. Howe, aged 17, is an emerging talent having featured at the Indoor Nationals Final in Las Vegas. Howe it was who started the stronger for a 2-0 lead before the experienced Earls hit back to claim the win 6-2.
An overwhelmed Earls (below right) said, “My goal this year was to do at least as good as I’ve done here before, and this was totally unexpected. I have been training so hard on trusting myself and trusting that I’m understanding what’s going on down at that end, and how that translates to what I’m doing. I leaned into that really, really hard the last two days.”
Lutz led throughout in his gold medal match with Julio Barillias (GUA), setting the tone early on with 30 from her first three arrows. This was the first time since 2022 that Lutz had landed gold. He took bronze last year after a semifinal loss to Fullerton and had to settle for silver in 2023 after a one arrow shootoff defeat to Kris Schaff.
On his 2025 success, Lutz commented, “It was a battle this year with the wind. I didn’t shoot good yesterday, but I knew this bow was capable of winning. When it calmed down I shot fine, so today I had to mentally restart and get back at it.”
The barebow men’s match went to sudden death in a pulsating back and forth involving Cooley and Spanky Brooks, who were meeting for the first time. The pair traded sets over the first four ends, then split the fifth end, forcing the shootoff, in which Cooley came out on top.
Earlier in the day, top seed Mark Hainline triumphed in the recurve 50+ men, defeating Allen Rasor Jr. 6-2. Nicole Rasor managed bronze in recurve 50+ women, with gold heading the way of LeAnn Starr, who enjoyed a 6-2 win over number one seed Lori Cieslinski.
Larry Butterfield successfully defended his compound 50+ men’s title with a 144-139 win over Stephen Wagner. Sharon Totton got an upgrade on her 2024 silver with gold in the compound 50+ women.
Few could get close to top seed Ryan Ostler on his way to gold in barebow 50+ men. The barebow 50+ women’s gold medal match brought together 81-year-old Phylliss Shipman and 70-year-old Barbara Carroll, who came close an upset at the Indoor Nationals Final when taking top seed Medina Otajagic to a second one arrow shootoff. It was the younger Carroll who took gold in Arizona, with a 6-0 victory.
The next event in the USAT Qualifier Series is the Easton Foundations Gator Cup, which takes place in Newberry, Fla. from April 25-27.
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