PUEBLA, Mexico – If the opening stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup is anything to go by, then the USA is on course for another strong showing in 2026, after claiming five medals in Mexico. Only China won more.
Brady Ellison qualified for his 15th World Cup Final with victory in recurve men. His path to the gold medal match began with two 6-0 wins, before he overcame teammate Christian Stoddard in the quarterfinals. Stoddard took sixth overall.
Two maximums from Ellison helped him to a 6-4 win over local favorite Mathias Grande (MEX) in the semifinal, setting up a finale with Chih-Chun Tang (TPE). Scores were not what they been previously, but with Tang requiring a 10 with his final arrow to force a shootoff, the archer from Chinese Taipei landed an eight to hand victory to Ellison.
“I needed 10 to win. It fired, and I knew it was a 10 in my head and it just missed, so I was like ‘come on’,” Ellison told archery+.
“So, I then 100 per cent expected it to be a shootoff. That’s what I was getting ready for, and then when I heard eight, I was like ‘oh’.
“Sometimes the matches go like that. You like to win them on your last arrow but coming away with the win, making the (World Cup) Final with the first stage of the year, I’m super excited.”
That gold in recurve men followed recurve men’s team gold, alongside Stoddard and Jack Williams, earlier on Sunday. The USA trio defeated Turkey but this time a shootoff was required, with Ellison landing the deciding arrow. Both teams scored 29 but Ellison was the only one to hit the X.
Ellison’s haul was completed with silver in recurve mixed team. He and Casey Kaufhold, the third seeds, defeated second seeded Turkey in the semifinals but came up short against top seeds China.
Catalina GNoriega was the best-placed USA archer in recurve women, taking joint seventh. Her path to the quarterfinals included a shootoff win over Kaufhold, who had defeated teammate Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez in the previous round.
Compound women won the first medal in Mexico for the USA. The team of Olivia Dean, Paige Pearce and Alexis Ruiz finished with silver, losing 233-232 to India in the deciding match.
Ruiz was the highest ranked archer from the USA in (individual) compound women, finishing joint seventh. Stephan Hansen, on his USA debut, took fourth in compound men.
Ruiz and Hansen combined for bronze in compound mixed team. They overcame India 155-154 to secure their place on the podium.
The USA's top archers in recurve and compound next head to Newberry in Florida for the first event in the USAT Qualifier Series, with the Easton Foundations Gator Cup starting with team rounds on Thursday and individual competition from Friday.
| DATES | EVENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
|
April 7-12 |
Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage #1 | Puebla, Mexico |
|
May 5-10 |
Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage #2 | Shanghai, China |
|
June 9-14 |
Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage #3 | Antalya, Turkey |
|
July 7-12 |
Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage #4 | Madrid, Spain |
| September 12-13 | Hyundai Archery World Cup Final | Saltillo, Mexico |
