HALIFAX, Nova Scotia - The 2022 Youth & Masters Pan American Championships competition today featured the team round events. The U.S. is bringing home a myriad of medals including three gold, one silver, and two bronze.
LeeAna Burley and William Fowler took an early lead in the compound U18 mixed team final and never looked back, taking the win 152-150 over Mexico. “Personally, I think that today went extremely well. Being able to go out onto a field as large as this and have fun is just amazing. I would absolutely describe today as a fun day,” said Fowler. “The competition is just incredible. When you get out on the field and you look around, you are shooting with the countries’ best shooters and have to work as hard as you can to prove to yourself that you are the best you can be. In my honest opinion, my performance was wonderful. It shows me that, even though I have more work ahead of me, I was able to come out and push through all the conditions to get to where I am."
In the compound U21 mixed team gold final, Tyler Heritage and Isabella Otter gave the USA another early lead over El Salvador and came out with the win 156-155. Otter will have another opportunity to square up against El Salvador for gold on Sunday in the compound U21 women’s final.
The wind picked up slightly moving into the afternoon, but Susan Bock and Mark Williams were undeterred in the recurve 50+ mixed team final against Argentina. “The wind kept changing from arrow to arrow. So it came down to quick, strong shots,” said Bock. She and Williams were able to remain consistent in the shifting conditions to win the gold.
Akshara Vijay and Ewan An took home the silver in the recurve U18 mixed team final. After upsetting Brazil 5-1 in the semifinals, they finished 6-0 to Mexico despite a strong comeback in the third set.
Coming home with bronze are resident athletes Ashley Kim and Landon Richardson who faced Brazil in a tough semifinal in the recurve U21 mixed team event before crushing a 6-0 shutout against Colombia in the finals.
The recurve U21 women’s team of Alyssa Artz, Eunice H. Choi and Ashley Kim faced Colombia in the semifinals to finish with bronze. “Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and I think that made the competition more exciting,” said Choi. “Our team shot strongly during our matches, but we were just slightly short with our scores. I’m glad I had the chance to shoot with Ashley Kim and Alyssa Artz and be their teammate for this event.”
The Championships conclude tomorrow with the individual gold finals where 18 U.S. archers will compete for the top spot on the podium.
Steve Vickers will shoot against teammate Mark Williams in the recurve 50+ men’s division. Vickers said, “Having competed in the Masters division at U.S. based events, I've come to see how the community and camaraderie we share among my teammates is also expressed by the other athletes. Shooting with the athletes from the other nations I've come to find that we are all cut from the same cloth, and appreciate the competitive spirit and good sportsmanship. This is my first international event and the opportunity to come out and represent Team USA has been nothing short of amazing!”
Complete results from the competition are available on Ianseo.
Photo by Jason Lykins
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