SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Some of the world’s best archers will gather on Wednesday for the inaugural USAT Series Final, the culmination of the four record-breaking events which form the USAT Qualifier Series, chasing top honors and prize money totaling $50,000!
The USAT Series Final will feature eight athletes per gender in the senior divisions of recurve, compound and barebow. They will compete in head-to-head elimination matches following World Archery rules, starting at 1pm CT on Wednesday. The gold medal matches will take place from 6pm CT and be broadcast live on USA Archery’s YouTube channel.
Unfortunately, top seed in compound women, Alexis Ruiz, was forced to withdraw on the eve of the event after being involved in a traffic accident. Writing on social media, Ruiz, explained ‘You know that saying “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck”… Well unfortunately I truly was hit by a truck. Due to this accident I’m not cleared to shoot until next week, so I will not be able to go to Outdoor Nationals or USAT Finals.
“This really put how fast life can change into perspective. Always enjoy life to the fullest! Good luck to everyone shooting. I’ll be cheering you on from home! My focus is on recovery and then building back my strength for the next tournament!”
Her absence means Kaylee Gurney steps up into the eighth seed position, and her quarterfinal match will be against the new number one seed, Olivia Dean, the winner of the Easton Foundations Gator Cup back in April and the first archer to qualify for this inaugural event.
On the same side of bracket will be Carson Krahe (5) against Paige Pearce (4). The other two quarterfinals in compound women involve Tanja Gellethien (2) versus Easton Foundations SoCal Showdown silver medalist, Leann Drake (7), with Katelyn Bordwell (3) taking on SoCal Showdown champion Beretta McKee (6).
Compound men is oozing with quality. Among the athletes involved is world number two, Mike Schloesser (NED), former world number one Braden Gellenthien and current world record holder, James Lutz. Lutz is the top seed and faces Grady Kane in the quarterfinals, a repeat of last month’s gold medal match at the Rebel Gear Buckeye Classic, won by Lutz.
The winner of that contest will tackle the winner of Gellenthien (5) and Ace Coleman (4). On the opposite side of the bracket, Schloesser (3) faces Dewey Hathaway (6), while Kyle Douglas (2) meets Louis Price (7).
Recurve men is full of familiar names, led by five-time Olympian Brady Ellison (1). His opening match is against eighth seed Chap Post, who took bronze at SoCal Showdown.
Ellison is world number two, while another U.S. archer inside the top 10 – Nicholas D’Amour – takes on T Sanchez. D’Amour, the world number nine and second seed at the USAT Series Final, took silver at both the Easton Foundations Salt Lake Summit and SoCal Showdown. Awaiting Ellison or Post in the semifinals is Jackson Mirich (5) or Jack Williams (4). Elsewhere, Christian Stoddard (3) and Trenton Cowles (6) battle it out for the chance to take on D’Amour or Sanchez.
Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez has had a career year in recurve women. She arrives at the Betty & Bobby Allison Sports Town not only as the number one seed but also having won the most recent three USAT Qualifier Series events. Her opening contest on Wednesday will be against Ye-eun ‘Grace’ Whang (8).
Awaiting the winner of that match will be Salt Lake Summit silver medalist Abigail Kippes (4) and Ana Luiza Caetano (5) of Brazil. The other side of the bracket is equally talented, boasting Casey Kaufhold (2) against Hayun Choi (7), while GNoriega (3) meets Olivia Martin (6). Both Whang and Choi are just 16 years of age. Whang will be one of the two U.S. archers at the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal later this year.
Barebow men opens with some intriguing encounters. Alex de Vera is the top seed but will once again face Brian Way (8), the man who defeated him last month at the Buckeye Classic. The same half of the bracket includes Josh Fint (5) and Matthew Christian. Within that half of the bracket you have the four winners from this year’s four USAT Qualifier Series events.
On the other side, Jim O’Shea (3) – who took bronze at SoCal Showdown – faces Daniel Parkes (6), with Lance Leong (2) – silver medalist at Salt Lake Summit and SoCal Showdown – meeting Marcus Cooley (7).
The barebow women’s division is stacked with experience and young talent. Erin Hollom (1) claimed her place with victory at Gator Cup, and goes up against Dakota McDonald (8) in the top half of the draw. The winner will meet Kay Earls (5) or Nina Lopez (4).
Three of the four stage winners are in the bottom half of the bracket. Emmie Purcell (2) meets Ava Jones (7), bringing together the champions at Salt Lake Summit and Buckeye Classic. Meanwhile, Cindy Czako (3) starts against SoCal Showdown champion, Medina Otajagic (6).
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