SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Easton Archery Center Salt Lake is hosting the first of two instalments of USAT Qualifier Series Stage #2 this week - the Easton Foundations Salt Lake Summit - with Senior, Para and 50+ archers the first to see action in the Beehive State.
Competition runs from Friday through Sunday, before Youth and Para Youth walk the same fields a week later.
This week’s event provides a second opportunity for archers in the Senior division to push for a place in the USAT Series Final, which is offering total prize money of $50,000 and takes place in Springfield, Mo. on August 12, immediately before the USA Archery Target Nationals and U.S. Open.
The USAT Series Final will feature eight athletes per gender in Recurve, Compound, and Barebow, competing in head-to-head elimination matches following World Archery rules.
Athletes will qualify for the USAT Series Final by competing in the Senior divisions at the four 2026 USAT Series events:
They will qualify by either winning a USAT Stage (placing first in an elimination round) or by accumulating the highest USAT Series Final Placement Points across events.
You can see where archers stand after the first of the Easton Foundations Gator Cup, the first of four events in the USAT Qualifier Series, which was held last month in Newberry, Fla.
With a stage win in Florida, the following six archers are already assured of a place in the USAT Series Final – Olivia Dean (compound women), Mike Schloesser (compound men), Erin Hollom (barebow women), Matthew Christian (barebow men), Casey Kaufhold (recurve women) and Marcus D’Almeida (recurve men).
Brady Ellison (pictured), the beaten finalist in recurve men at Gator Cup, can expect to be among the challengers, alongside international teammates Trenton Cowles, Christian Stoddard and Jack Williams, while quality also shows in the form of Nicholas D’Amour and Jackson Mirich. There will also be HotelPlanner Collegiate Target Nationals champion, Jack Krengel, in attendance, as well as bronze medalist and number one seed from last weekend’s event in Lansing, Mich., Chap Post.
Another to have been at Collegiate Target Nationals is Catalina GNoriega. She was also with the U.S. in China the week before, and will line up in recurve women in Salt Lake. Francesca Benavidez, who was second seed in barebow at Collegiate Target Nationals, is another with a quick turnaround. Ana Luiza Caetano (BRA), who was defeated by Kaufhold in Newberry in the gold medal match, will be another to pose a threat in Salt Lake.
James Lutz set a new world best in compound men at Gator Cup but was beaten to gold by Schloesser. Lutz is just one of many top quality compound archers in the men’s division, alongside Curtis Broadnax (pictured), Gaius Carter, Stephan Hansen, Braden Gellenthien and Nick Kappers. Isaac Sullivan arrives fresh from securing silver in compound college men at Collegiate Target Nationals.
Gator Cup gold medalist, Olivia Dean, heads a fine field in compound women, with the likes of Alexis Ruiz, Paige Pearce, Sachiko Keane, Toja Ellison, Liko Arreola, Sydney Sullenberger and Kaylee Gurney. Sullenberger was involved in Collegiate Target Nationals and earlier this week enjoyed her graduation ceremony at Columbia University.
Marcus Cooley missed competing at Gator Cup but the two-time 2025 USAT Qualifier Series gold medalist will step to the line in Utah, as will 2025 Arizona Cup silver medalist, Spanky Brooks.
Gator Cup gold medalist Erin Hollom will seek to maintain that momentum in barebow women, though Kay Earls – from neighboring Colorado – is someone with USAT Qualifier Series gold to her name, having won Arizona Cup a year ago, while Emmie Purcell and Anastacia Godman arrive in form from Collegiate Target Nationals.
There is a strong W1 Open field, which includes Paralympians Tracy Otto and Jason Tabansky, plus up-and-coming talent in Kimberly Garcia, Ryan Lindstrom and Damon Whittaker.
Recurve open men is led by teenager Jordan White, with another Paralympian in Daniela Campos Marzano (PER, pictured) competing in recurve open women alongside U.S. internationals Candice Caesar and Karen Sternfeld.
Ephraim Tonn-Bourg caused an upset at Gator Cup with gold in compound open men, which will make KJ Polish – who swept all four USAT Qualifier Series events last year - even more determined at Salt Lake Summit.
Brandi Iannoli (pictured) took Gator Cup gold by just two points from Catalina Bustamante in compound open women. Those two will again be joined by Wendy Gardner and Sophia Grayson in Utah.
Though some names are absent from the 50+ age category - as they will representing the USA at the 2026 Pan American Youth and Masters Championships in Medellin, Colombia – the field remains deep in Salt Lake this week.
Recurve 50+ men includes the 2025 Easton Foundations SoCal Showdown gold medalist, Allen Rasor Jr., plus the Rebel Gear Buckeye Classic silver medalist, Tom Stevenson Jr. and both Matthew Bamberg and Larry Anderson, who enjoyed bronze at last year’s AAE Arizona Cup and Gator Cup respectively.
Recurve 50+ women will have their fair share of quality, also. LeAnn Starr, competing in her home state this week, won gold at Arizona Cup last year. Nicole Rasor took top honors at SoCal Showdown.
Patrick Parks will be eager to improve on his bronze from last month’s Gator Cup in compound 50+ men, a division which also contains the man who beat him in the semifinals and eventually took silver in Newberry, Timothy Lopez.
Sharon Totton (pictured) was top seed at Gator Cup in compound 50+ women and walked away with bronze. She is among the field this week, as are 2025 gold medalists Tamara Fontenot (Gator Cup) and Alanna Dunaway (SoCal Showdown) plus two-time bronze medalist from last year’s USAT Qualifier Series, Marianna Finkel.
Barebow 50+ men gives Dwayne Morgan the opportunity to podium, having narrowly missed out at Gator Cup. Seeded three in Florida after qualification, Morgan lost out in the semifinals to eventual winner Brian Johnson before defeat to Melvin Powell in the bronze medal match.
Latest scores and results from Salt Lake City can be found here, while there will be photos available at the end of each session.
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