PHOENIX, Ariz. – The bar has been set after the opening weekend of the USA Archery Indoor Nationals and JOAD Indoor Nationals, which took place in Arizona this past weekend.
This was the first of 18 events across 16 locations between now and the first weekend in March. You can still register for the location nearest to you. Check with the organizers as some locations are close to or at capacity.
A number of notable names stepped onto the line for the first time in 2026, including Brady Ellison, Alexis Ruiz, Toja Ellison, Robby Weissinger and Eric Bennett.
Brady Ellison (recurve senior men) was one of only two archers to land more than 100 of their 120 arrows into the 10 ring – the other being Alexis Ruiz (compound senior women). Ellison hit 104 10s in his total of 1184, which was 36 points ahead of Jackson Mirich. Ruiz landed 103 10s in her score of 1183, which was 19 points better than Toja Ellison.
Five-time Paralympian Eric Bennett was second to Weissinger in barebow senior men, who delivered a score of 1092. Bennett managed 1035.
The husband-and-wife duo of Allen and Nicole Rasor both lodged top scores in their respective recurve 50+ divisions. Allen finished with 1083 after 120 arrows, while Nicole – who competed for Austria in diving at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles – managed 1095.
Bob and Barbara Carroll set the pace in barebow 70+. Bob delivered 1009 in 70+ men, with Barbara scoring 907. Only four other women across the barebow division returned better scores than Barbara.
Kenneth Brunko was shooting in the compound 50+ division, but his score of 1168 was the leading compound men’s score of the opening weekend, one point better than Adam Stringham and two clear of Tyler Heritage, both of whom were competing in the compound senior men category.
In the JOAD competition, standout performances included a total of 581 (from 60 arrows) for Khloe Markel in compound U18 women – the top score of all JOAD compound divisions. Francesca Benavidez registered 566 in recurve U21 women, three ahead of Abigail Kippes. The leading archer in fixed pins was Reilly Dougherty with a score of 582 in U21 men.
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DATE |
LOCATION |
INDOOR |
JOAD INDOOR |
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January 16-18 |
Chula Vista, CA |
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* |
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|
Cheney, WA |
* |
* |
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January 30-February 1 |
Owensboro, KY |
* |
* |
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February 5-8 |
Newberry, FL |
* |
* |
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February 6-8 |
Chula Vista, CA |
* |
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Salt Lake City, UT |
* |
* |
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Yankton, SD |
* |
* |
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College Station, TX |
* |
* |
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February 7-8 |
Hillsborough Township, NJ |
* |
* |
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February 13-15 |
Lancaster, PA |
* |
* |
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February 20-22 |
Wheaton, IL |
* |
* |
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Chula Vista, CA |
* |
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Fiskdale, MA |
* |
* |
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Rockford, MN |
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* |
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February 27-March 1 |
Harrisonburg, VA |
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* |
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Hattiesburg, MS |
* |
* |
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|
Mason, MI |
* |
* |
There will not be a 2026 USA Archery Indoor Final, but rather prize money will be distributed based on the final combined results from all indoor nationals locations for each gender and age class by category as in the past. So, archers will still receive medals for the National Championship titles by division but then will have additional opportunity to earn prize money as well.
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