PHOENIX, Arizona – Today concluded day seven of stage three of an incredibly lengthy and challenging U.S. Team Trials process to name the USA’s recurve team for the World Archery Championships in the Netherlands this summer, the Pan American Games and several other upcoming international events. The hard-fought battle featured qualification rounds, round robin matches, one arrow shoot off matches, team round simulations, challenging winds, extreme pressure and truly tested the shooting abilities, mental toughness, endurance and dedication of all competitors.
USA Archery CEO Rod Menzer commended the athletes on strong performances in the Trials: “This process was designed to ensure we send the absolute best possible team to the World Championships. This year is extremely critical for the U.S. as it will be our first chance to secure slots for the Tokyo 2020 Games and I am confident that the team we have selected will represent us well on the world stage. We appreciate the efforts each archer in the Trials put forth in preparing for these events and are excited to wish our team the best as they continue to get ready for a tough season of competition.”
USA Archery is proud to announce the lineup. For the men, three-time Olympic medalist Brady Ellison dominated the Trials. With an insane margin over the rest of the field, he shot scores that neared records despite winds and won nearly every event outright. While Ellison holds one of the most impressive archery resumes in history, he does not yet have the outdoor World Champion title and will be a favorite for the Netherlands.
Ellison is joined by Jack Williams. Williams has been making a splash on the scene for some time now, winning team gold at the World Archery Youth Championships in 2017, then shooting on the senior World Archery Indoor Championships team last year. Having made a strong world cup debut, including several top ten team finishes, Williams will be a powerful team member.
Tom Stanwood rounds out the team, having solidified his spot early in today’s matches. Stanwood competed for 2017 at the last edition of the World Archery Championships and has made several appearances on the world cup circuit for the U.S.
“I think this was the longest tournament I’ve ever shot in,” commented Ellison on the Trials. “It was a good event, I shot a 1376 yesterday in the team sims, which I think is one of the best back to back double 70s I’ve ever shot, and I shot a 686 in matches today plus three 29s, so I’m feeling good right now.”
Ellison is confident in the team nominated through this process: “Jack is shooting really good. Tom has worked really hard, he’s an older guy with a couple of kids, life experience, he’s calm. He’s on a huge upswing right now, he’s shot better and better every day of this Trial. He’s shot with us before and he’s putting in a lot of hard work, Jack is putting in a lot of work. We have an experienced team, we’ve already made plans to start practicing together and we’ll do all we can to go get our spots.”
At just 15 years old, Casey Kaufhold smoked the recurve women’s competition field, solidly locking up the top slot. Kaufhold, who crushed the indoor world series this past winter will make her debut on the outdoor senior world teams this summer.
Kaufhold reflected on the strenuous Trials with a smile: “Coming into this, I just wanted to be confident and know I could shot the scores I needed to come out on top. It’ll be fun to travel with this team. My goal for this whole year is to be happy, I want to shoot because I want to do it and because I enjoy it.”
Erin Mickelberry fills the second spot. Mickelberry makes her world championship debut, but she has competed at the world cups intermittently after a strong international showing in her collegiate archery years.
Kaufhold and Mickelberry will be joined by seasoned competitor Khatuna Lorig. The five-time Olympian brings the most experience to the team, and with so much Olympic significance on this year’s events, her expertise will be an asset.
Alternates for the teams: Rio 2016 Olympians Zach Garrett and Mackenzie Brown.
Complete results from the Trials are available here. The compound and Para teams for the Netherlands will be nominated following Trials events on April 8th. Stay tuned for the #ArizonaCup, which kicks off USAT season this weekend with record breaking participation numbers.
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