SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There are six new names confirmed for the inaugural USAT Series Final following the first-ever Easton Foundations Salt Lake Summit, the second of four events in the USAT Qualifier Series.
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.
Brady Ellison (pictured), having been defeated in the gold medal match at last month’s Easton Foundations Gator Cup, made sure of his place in Springfield, Mo. in August with a 6-4 win over Nicholas D’Amour on Saturday afternoon.
“It being the first year (of the USAT Series Final), I really wanted to be a part of that,” Ellison admitted. “I think it’s something that’s awesome. I think it’s a lot of fun. Getting the win and going in off a win is a lot easier than trying to go in off points. It’s shaping up to be a good outdoor season.”
The final four of recurve women had a familiar look about it, containing Olympic and World Cup teammates Catalina GNoriega, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez. Kaufhold had to settle for bronze, with victory over GNoriega, as Abigail Kippes – who has just finished her junior year at high school – battled her way into the gold medal match where she lost out to Mucino-Fernandez on Sunday.
And so, Mucino-Fernandez it is who joins Kaufhold on the list of those assured of a spot in the USAT Series Final from the recurve women’s division.
Mucino-Fernandez said, “I’m really happy with the win. We’ve been traveling for three weeks, going to China and then Korea, so I’m really exhausted but pushed through it with the help of friends and coaches, so super happy.”
Compound was split across the weekend, also, with Alexis Ruiz (pictured) defeating Paige Pearce on Saturday in the gold medal match, 146-142. Ruiz had earlier beaten eventual bronze medalist Olivia Dean in the semifinals. Dean was the first to punch her ticket to Springfield with victory at Gator Cup.
“My last two matches to win gold were really tough – Olivia and then Paige,” began Ruiz. “Between the three of us, any one of us could win on any given day. I’m just really glad that I kept it together. The wind was really tricky so I was just focusing on one arrow at a time.
“I am really pleased to have qualified for the USAT Series Final. I have been to three World Cup Finals and I’m really excited that we’re doing something like that.”
Gold in compound men went to top seed Kyle Douglas, who got the better of Dewey Hathaway in the deciding match, 149-146. Hathaway was a double gold medalist at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships, and Braden Gellenthien on his way to the final, before beating Ace Coleman in the semifinals. Coleman upset second seed and Gator Cup silver medalist, James Lutz in the quarterfinals.
Josh Fint was the first archer at Salt Lake Summit to win a spot in Springfield. The number six seed won the last two ends to edge top seed Lance Leong in barebow men, and joins Matthew Christian as a barebow men’s stage winner at this year’s USAT Series Qualifier events.
And it was a relative newcomer to barebow, Emmie Purcell, who added her name to the USAT Series Final. She emerged from qualification as number one seed and confirmed her standing with gold and without dropping a single point in eliminations, culminating in a 6-0 win over Mary Holzer in the decider. Bronze went to Erin Hollom, winner in Florida and already guaranteed a place in the USAT Series Final.
“I just showed up wanting to shoot my shot,” commented Purcell, who was competing at just her second USAT Qualifier Series event and previously competed in compound.
“The quality of barebow women has really come up in recent years. As someone who switched recently, I have been blown away by not only the quality of archers but the quality of them as people.
“And now I’m going to the USAT Series Final, which I’m super excited about and can’t wait to see what it all brings.”
Number one seeds certainly fared well elsewhere. Mike Gerard (recurve 50+ men), Nicole Rasor (recurve 50+ women, pictured) and Dwayne Morgan (barebow 50+ men) topped the podium having topped their division after qualification. Nicole’s husband, Allen, claimed silver in recurve 50+ men.
Eighty-two year-old Phyllis Shipman (pictured) took gold in barebow 50+ women. The second seed overcame number one seed Sabrina Harrigan 6-2. Barbara Carroll needed a shootoff to edge Irene Hashimoto for bronze.
Melanie LeBoeuf was victorious in compound 50+ women. The three seed started strong and never looked back in her 136-120 win over the one seed, Tamara Fontenot. Sharon Totton came through for the bronze.
Reo Wilde (pictured) trailed 28-27 after the first end of his gold medal match with Justin Carter in compound 50+ men, but then only dropped two more points as he took victory 145-142. Number one seed Timothy Lopez won bronze.
Thunderstruck Archery Club from Tampa had two archers in the top four of W1 Open. Silver went to Ryan Lindstrom, while newcomer James Kerrigan took fourth. Gold went to Jason Tabansky, who made sure of a 6-4 win with 29 on his final end, with Damon Whittaker taking bronze. Tabansky also took gold at Gator Cup, with Whittaker in silver and Lindstrom bronze.
Another from Thunderstruck to impress was Odin Torres-Kerrigan in compound men. He picked up a bow less than two months ago and posted a qualification score of 609 in his first-ever tournament!
There is a full list of scores and results from Salt Lake City, while action photos and podium pictures can be found here.
Salt Lake Summit continues this coming week with youth and para youth descending on the Easton Salt Lake Archery Center. That event runs from May 29-31. With the numbers from this past weekend and those expected for the second edition of Salt Lake Summit, organizers are expecting more records to be set. Gator Cup enjoyed record numbers for their event, and the first edition of Salt Lake Summit has already beaten those numbers!
The next opportunity for archers to automatically qualify for the USAT Series Final will be the Easton Foundations SoCal Showdown, which runs from June 19-21 in Chula Vista. Registration remains open though field capacity is nearing for the U15, U18, and U21 age classes and a waitlist has been implemented. Head to the event page for more information.
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