April 4, 2024
The first day of the Arizona Cup also featured a first-stage Paralympic Qualifying Qualifying Event and a fourth-stage Olympic Qualifying Qualifying Event, with records being set, expectations high, and, for some, the lead-up to representing the U.S. in Paris. A new step has been taken.
Each country can qualify for one or three Olympic spots in the men's recurve and women's recurve categories, respectively. The U.S. so far has one spot in the men's division and one in the women's division.
Maximum of 2 quotas available In each Paralympic category, the U.S. earned up to two spots in the Men's Recurve Open and Men's Compound Open, and one spot in the Women's W1.
Stage #1 was held in conjunction with the first USAT Qualifier Series event of the year, the Arizona Cup.
After the first of three stages in the Recurve Men's Open, four-time Paralympian Eric Bennett is considered the man to chase. The 50-year-old is fighting in his hometown arena and still outclasses 15-year-old Jordan White!
“When I woke up this morning and walked out here, I thought I was finally going to shoot something meaningful (toward the Paralympics), and that's when it started to feel real,” Bennett said.
Lance Thornton won the silver medal behind Jeff Sena in the men's open combined division, but was at the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials. KJ Polish finished fourth behind Canada's Kyle Tremblay in Arizona for second place.
The top archer in the W1 women's division was Tracy Otto. She won the bronze medal at the W1 Open at the Arizona Cup behind Jason Tavansky and Lucas Herro.
In the Women's Combined Open, Wendy Gardner beat her national record by 15 points to win the gold medal (currently under review). The silver medal went to 17-year-old Kimberly Garcia, and the bronze medal went to Teresa Wallace.
Fabiola Delgovich (BRA) was the 2024 Arizona Cup winner, followed by Karen Rocha and Candice Caesar. Kelly Thornberry took home honors at the VI Open.
Talent was scattered around the Ben Avery Archery Range Thursday morning. First, just one day after he completed the third stage of the Olympic Trials, there was a familiar name at the top of the recurve men's and women's divisions. World No. 2 Brady Ellison is the top seed for the men, while world No. 1 Casey Cauhold is the top seed for the women.
The Arizona Cup qualifying round also served as the fourth stage of the Olympic qualifying qualifying event. In the men's division, Ellison maintains a good distance in front, while the shooters maneuver behind him.
Trenton Cowles moved into second place ahead of Jackson Milic and Jack Williams. In the women's race in Paris, the top four positions remained the same, but Alexandria Zuleta Visser moved up one place from sixth to fifth.
The remaining stages of the Olympic and Paralympic trials will be held in Florida next month during and after the Gator Cup, the second USAT event of the year.
There will be a strong international presence at this year's Arizona Cup, with top seed Stefan Hansen (DEN), third seed Mathias Fullerton (NZ), and fifth seed and world number one Mike Schlesser (NED). The composite men's top 10, including . 7th seed Roberto Hernandez (ESA), 9th seed Julio Alfredo Barrillas Aragón (GUA), and 10th seed Robin Yatma (EST). Top 10 players include James Lutz, Sawyer Sullivan, Jesse Clayton, and Chris Schaff.
Yatma's younger sister Lisel is in 6th place in the combined women's race. Her top seed was Paige Pearce, who finished three points behind Olivia Dean and world number one Ella Gibson of Great Britain.
Marcus Cooley is the top seed in the Barebow boys heading into Friday morning's qualifying round, leading Wallace Woodlief and Andrew Cousins. Leading the Barebow girls is Diana Cochrane, followed by Christina Lyons and Johana Chacko.
Competition continues Friday with elimination rounds in senior recurve, compound and barebow. The gold medal matches in each category will be streamed live on USA Archery's Facebook and YouTube channels beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.
The U21 and U18 competitions will begin on Friday afternoon following a qualifying round for the over-50s division.
The latest scores and results from the Arizona Cup, along with action photos from game day, can be found on Between Ends.
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