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by Mary Beth Vorwerk – USA Archery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Archery is pleased to announce Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) and Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) as the 2006 Male and Female Athletes of the Year for recurve and Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) and Jahna Davis (Helena, Mont.) as the 2006 Male and Female Athletes of the Year for Compound. Joseph Bailey (Flushing, Mich.) is taking home the honor for 2006 Paralympian of the Year, while the Men’s Pan American Championship Team is the Team of the Year for Recurve and the Men’s World Cup Team was selected as the Team of the Year for Compound.
Two-time Olympian Wunderle, who won an individual silver and team bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, started out his successful year in 2006 finishing in 1st place at the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas, followed by a second place finish at the National Indoor Championships. He took first place at the Arizona Cup International, Texas Shootout, Copa Juan E Barrios World Ranking Competition in Salinas, Puerto Rico, National Field Championships, National Target Championships and finished in second place at the World Field Championships, where he also captured a team gold medal.
This is the fifth time Wunderle has been named USA Archery Male Athlete of the Year. He won the award previously in 1994, 1999, 2000 and 2004.
Nichols, a 2004 Olympian, took 1st place at the 2006 World Archery Festival in Las Vegas and 1st place at the 2006 Texas Shootout. At the Mexican Grand Prix, she tied her personal best score with a 1346 FITA, which was the third best U.S. FITA score in history. In August, Nichols placed third at the National Target Championships, then took 1st place at the U.S. Open. She finished in 1st place at the Pan American Championships, where she also claimed a team bronze medal. Nichols previously won the Female Athlete of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004.
Bailey, a 2005 IPC World Championship team member was selected as the 2006 Paralympian of the Year for USA Archery after making his national score for the U.S. Paralympic National Archery Team and finishing in first place at the National Target Championships. This is the first time Bailey has received the Paralympian of the Year honor.
Wilde became the first ever FITA Archery World Cup overall champion for men’s compound in 2006. He claimed the gold medal at the Croatia Grand Prix, won the bronze in El Salvador and claimed the gold at the World Cup Final, finishing in first place overall. Wilde also took first place at the Texas Shootout, second place at the National Indoor Championships and third place at the National Target Championships.
Davis had a very successful showing at the first ever FITA Archery World Cup in 2006 winning the bronze medal in Croatia, finishing in fourth place in El Salvador and fifth place in Shanghai, China. Davis took the bronze at the World Cup final and placed fourth overall in the World Cup standings. She also claimed the 2006 National Field title, Arizona Cup International title, finished second at the National Target Championships and finished fourth at the World Field Championships.
The 2006 Men’s Pan American Championship Team of Wunderle, four-time Olympian Butch Johnson (Woodstock, Conn.), Brady Ellison (Glendale, Ariz.) and Joe McGlyn (Floral Park, N.Y.) was selected as the Team of the Year for recurve after claiming the gold medal at the 2006 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team also secured all three spots for the U.S. men’s archery team at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio.
The U.S. Men’s World Cup Compound Team of Dave Cousins (Standish, Maine), Reo Wilde and Logan Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) took the gold medal in Croatia at the first leg of the FITA Archery World Cup. They shot their way to a world record in the Team Qualification Round in El Salvador, finishing with 4202 points, the first time the 4200 points barrier had been broken in a team FITA Round and also went on to claim the bronze medal at that event. The team then captured their second gold at the fourth stage of the World Cup in Shanghai, China, helping the U.S. team finish first place overall in the final World Cup standings.
USA Archery nominated Wunderle for the 2006 United States Olympic Committee (USOC) SportsMan of the Year, Nichols for SportsWoman of the Year, the Men’s Pan American Championship Team as Team of the Year and Bailey for Paralympian of the Year. The recipients of the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman, Team of the Year and Paralympian of the Year were awarded on January 16 to Long-track speedskater Joey Cheek (Greensboro, N.C.), snowboarder Hannah Teter (Belmont, Vt.), Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long (Baltimore, Md.), and the U.S. Men’s Curling Team. All 2006 winners are first time recipients of the awards.
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