COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - The United States Archery Team, "USAT," consists of the best master, senior, para, junior and cadet archers in the country, selected based on performance in several national events over a yearlong season.
This year, USA Archery's national events series saw record shattering combined participation of over 8,000 archers, aiming for gold and national recognition. As the level of competition in the U.S. continues to rise, earning a spot on the USAT is a prestigious honor and USA Archery applauds those who have worked so hard to deserve this recognition. Beyond the prestige of making the USAT, archers earn the right to wear USA across their backs on a special team jersey, and are provided special benefits and gifts from generous USA Archery Sponsors.
Paige Pearce Gore (Red Bluff, California) took the top USAT ranking for the compound senior women. For the seniors, top national rankings lead to spots on the World Cup circuit. Gore commented: "I am so thankful that I was able to make the 2018 USAT! Representing our country is something that means so much to me, and it's an honor that not many people around the world get to experience. I realize how lucky I am to be a part of Team USA, and I am beyond excited to be back for the 2018 tournament season."
In 2017, the biggest and most competitive field was the cadet archers, especially the recurve shooters. As USA Archery continues to grow its athlete development pipeline with the success of new initiatives including the Regional Dream Team and Compound Junior Dream Team, youth archers set several new world records at the World Archery Youth Championships and brought home eleven medals.
A strong standout in the cadet recurve division was 13-year-old Casey Kaufhold (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). On finishing first in the Cadet USAT rankings, Kaufhold commented: "It is such an honor to actually be on the United States team and I was very grateful all my hard work had paid off to make this team. I'm very thankful for everyone who has supported me through all of my tournaments, especially my parents for taking me there and letting me shoot. I'm grateful to be able to do what I do and to have all the support that I have."
In the Para USAT rankings, the compound open men's division is by far the largest. Taking top honors this year was Benjamin Thompson (Ladson, South Carolina). Thompson shared: "Being able to represent team USA is such an honor and to finish on top against some of the best talent in the world is an absolutely amazing feeling!"
USA Archery congratulates our archers on another amazing season, especially those who excelled to the highest level and made the USAT selection. See the full 2018 USAT here. For any questions on USAT, please contact USA Archery’s High Performance Program Manager Leticia Malavasi at [email protected]
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