RA Program Enjoys Major Success at 2009 U.S. Nationals

National Medalist-H. Koehl-Bronze, B. Ellison-Gold, J. Kaminski-Bronze, E. Blake-Gold

Hamilton, Ohio – The Resident Athlete Program enjoyed major success at the 2009 U.S. Nationals. Brady Ellison and Emily Blake won National Championships in the Senior Men’s Division and Junior Girls Division respectively. Heather Koehl and Jake Kaminski also had a great competition and won the Bronze Medal in the Senior Men’s Division and Women’s Senior Division.

The intense four day competition was actually cut down to just three days of competition after lightening storms deemed competition too dangerous for the first day. On the second day, Brady Ellison quickly developed a large lead that would prove the difference maker. On the first distance, Ellison broke Rick McKinney’s 22 year old record at 50m with an outstanding score of 345. Ellison said, “It feels good to beat that record. When records are that old, they need to be broken, I just wish I would have set the standard even higher than 345.” The record setting start would prove to be a valuable, as Ellison went on to win the competition. “It feels real good to be able to win 2 in a row and that I’m able to continue to push myself to do better each year,” explains Ellison.

Jake Kaminski giving the thumbs up!

In the Junior Women’s Division, Emily Blake won her first National Championship in two years. The final result was very surprising for Blake considering she switched from left to right handed in late November. Blake said, “I’m extremely happy with my performance, but next year I need to develop a more consistent mental routine so I can maintain better focus.”

Heather Koehl also won the Bronze Medal in the Senior Women’s Division. On the final day of shooting it was a close battle between Koehl, fellow Resident Athlete Megan Carter, and National Team Member Stephanie Miller. The final result ended with Koehl in 3rd, Miller in 4th and Carter in 5th.

Both Men’s and Women’s Teams won Gold in the Open Team Event. Shooting on the Men’s Team was Jake Kaminski, Josh Smith, and Tyler Schardt. Emily Blake, Megan Carter, and Heather Koehl competed for the Women’s Team. This marks the 5th time(out of 5) that the RA Program has won both the Men’s and Women’s Team events at competitions this year!

Head National Coach, Kisik Lee said of the results, “I’m very pleased with the results this year for the RA Program! This is very promising for our program because many of the athletes are so young. I think in order for us to continue to have successes like these, we will need to increase our physical strength and become mentally tougher, and this will be our focus for the next 3 months.”

We would like to thank our sponsors, including Easton Foundation and TaxMasters for lending financial support helping to cover travel and registration costs, Nike for the apparel, and Easton, Hoyt, Doinker, Beiter, Range-O-Matic Spinwings, BCY, and Limbsaver for their support in providing the Resident Athlete Program with equipment.

Heather Koehl and Brady Ellison

Emily Blake: From Dreams to Teams

Emily Blake

I started archery when I was 8 years old. We shot at balloons during a girl scout outing, and decided to sign up for lessons. After one year in JOAD, I made the Vermont Junior Archers Road Team. We traveled around New England for regional tournaments and such.  It was the beginning of a great experience for me. By 2005 I was competing in outdoor archery competitions, and in 2008 I made the Junior World Team.  As a member of the 2008 Junior World Team, I competed for the United States in Antalya, Turkey at the 2008 Youth World Championships.

I decided in order to achieve my future goals, I would need a better atmosphere and the best coaching I could get.  So, I decided to become a Resident Athlete in September of 2008.  Training at the Olympic Training Center has helped me see how I have to change in order to become the best.  In mid-December of 2008, I made the switch from left-handed to right-handed.  This was a very difficult change for me, but by the end of April I was showing great progress.  In May of 2009 I made the Junior World Team again, this time shooting right handed instead of left handed!  Now, I will be competing in Ogden, Utah at the 2009 Youth World Championships.

My dream since I started competing in Outdoor Archery, has been to go to the Olympics. I also would like to qualify for the spot to compete in the Youth Olympics in 2010, held in Singapore. This summer I will have that opportunity to qualify for the Youth World Olympics and with a little luck, I will do it!