COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Steven Manfull, reigning National Champion, is twenty, single and just won the Texas Shootout. To his friends and fans on the field, Manfull says he is using the check to buy everyone dinner, location to be determined.
Manfull has been making a splash on the compound men's scene this year in USAT Series Events and was excited to finish the season on a high note: "This is my last outdoor shoot of the year, it felt great to finally get the gold medal. I came close in Alabama [for the U.S. Open] but I made it this time!"
Indoor season will be Manfull's next big focus because he plans to be busy with school come next year. He is a junior at Wichita State studying biology with a focus in health science and hopes to eventually become an athletic trainer for archers.
Seeded 11th in the qualification round, Manfull worked his way up the brackets today, knocking out Lonnie Marlow 148-145 in the /8th, No. 3 seed Braden Gellenthien in the quarterfinals with an X in a shoot off, and ultimately top seed Reo Wilde, 145-142.
Justin Dixon, seeded 12th also climbed the brackets to take the bronze finish over Caleb Sorrells with a decisive 144-139 win.
On the compound women's side, Crystal Gauvin and Dahlia Crook, the top two seeds from qualification dominated the competition. Shooting straight into the gold medal final, the two were on fire.
Opening with matching 29s, Crystal took the lead in the second end with another 29 and then a 30 - giving her a clear path to victory 144-140. Emily Bee took out Aggie, Allie Blazek on her first home turf Texas Shootout 146-143 in an equally exciting match for bronze.
Alexis Ruiz took the cadet compound gold by a large gap: 144-135 over Athena Caiopoulos while Breanna Theodore knocked out No. 3 seed Sophia Strachan for bronze. Major upsets kept the cadet male compound bracket on their toes. No. 4 seed Blake Ragon clinched the gold over Jesse Clayton while Curtis Broadnax won bronze against 24th seed Zachary Meyer.
Brian Bullis Jr. and Meghan Collins took the cadet recurve wins before they will shoot again tomorrow in the senior division, hoping to make the top 16 cuts for U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Bullis and Adam Heidt both won finals matches with 6-0 shut outs over Trenton Cowles, who claimed silver, and Matthew Van Hemert.
Grace Kim started out strong in her gold final against Collins, but then struggled before conceding 6-2. Christine Kim won bronze over Joyce Yoo, also in a clear 6-2 win.
Competition resumes tomorrow with the remaining recurve archers' qualification. Complete results and live scores throughout the weekend can be found here. For more, follow USA Archery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
< Back to All News
