COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With archery at the 2025 Youth Para Pan American Games wrapped up in Chile, perhaps time for a moment of reflection on what has been another glittering year for USA archers on the international stage.
It was a golden Monday for the USA at the Youth Para Pan Am Games, with Ephraim Tonn-Bourg capturing double gold, including one alongside Sophia Grayson. This was the latest indicator of the strength and depth of the USA’s para archers.
The Junior Pan Am Games took place in Paraguay in August and produced four medals for the USA – two of which went to one of the emerging talents in 2025, Kaylee Gurney.
Brady Ellison book-ended his 2025 with success - crowned overall recurve men’s champion in the World Archery Indoor Series in March and gold medalist in China seven months later for his sixth Hyundai Archery World Cup Final win.
Casey Kaufhold was also triumphant in the World Archery Indoor Series, in recurve women, before playing a key role in the USA’s team success at the World Cup events. Alongside Catalina GNoriega and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez, the trio medaled at three of the four stages, including gold in Turkey as the first victorious recurve women’s team since 2015.
Elias Cuesta became National Head Coach last December. He said, “Regarding the athletes who have competed this year on the international circuit, I must say that I feel privileged to spend time with athletes like them.
“Not only are they great archers, and that makes me grow as a coach, but they are also great people, and we have had some wonderful and fun times with all of them.
“For me, coming to a country like the United States and having athletes like Brady trust me from the start, or having Casey be so open to working with me alongside her coach, or the men’s compound team at my first World Cup when they gave me complete freedom to define the team order and work with them in my own way. I've truly felt privileged, and they've made me feel like everyone trusts my work.”
Cuesta has overseen a team which enjoyed success at World Cup and World Championship levels, and which included debutants Curtis Broadnax, Christian Stoddard and Abigail Winterton. Winterton was part of the bronze medal-winning compound women’s team at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Florida and Stage 3 in Turkey.
Stoddard was one of two archers – the other being Grady Kane – who shot at both the World Archery Championships and World Archery Youth Championships. He won recurve men team gold at the Youth World and team silver at the World Championships event, plus World Cup team silver in Spain and team bronze in China.
There was additional compound success notably women’s team silver at the World Championships in Korea, men’s team gold in Florida, mixed team gold and individual silver for Nick Kappers in Turkey, silver for Carson Krahe in China, as well as men’s team bronze in Spain. Mixed team gold was won by Alexis Ruiz and Curtis Broadnax, with the latter singled out by Cuesta for his showing in 2025.
“I think Curtis has been one of those people who has brought the compound team together, both among themselves and with the recurves, and brought the athletes even closer to the staff.”
The stand-out compound archer in 2025 was arguably Savannah O’Donohue. She swept the board at the World Archery Youth Championships in Canada, winning U18 golds in the individual, mixed team and women’s team category. Caleb Quiocho managed two medals north of the border, claiming mixed team gold with O’Donohue and U18 men’s team silver with Suraj Nalam and Brody Wonch.
Jason Tabansky added World Archery Para Championships silver in the W1 men division to his 2024 Paralympic gold, while KJ Polish and Ben Thompson struck gold in compound open men doubles.
There was earlier para success for USA athletes during Leg 1 and Leg 2 of the Americas Para Archery Cup, with the team topping the medals table at both events, in Mexico and Chicago. Polish and Tabansky enjoyed gold in both locations, while there was a first international gold for Kimberly Garcia, which she claimed on home soil, setting a new Americas record in the process.
World University Games brought a compound women team silver for Leann Drake, Sydney Sullenberger and Danielle Woodie, with Broadnax, Ruiz and Fawn Girard among the medals at the World Games. Broadnax won individual silver and mixed team bronze (alongside Ruiz) in the target compound division. Girard took bronze in field barebow women.
USA archers who made the teams for this year’s World Archery Youth Championships, World University Games or World Games each received financial support thanks to the Lancaster Archery Foundation (LAF).
For more information on international opportunities or international teams, please visit our International Events page.
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