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

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 shot extremely well finishing in third place just a few points behind Ellison. Kaminski explains, “I feel happy because I wanted a podium finish, but I’m not yet satisfied because I know I am capable of higher scores. Next year will be an even better year for me.” Kaminski went on to explain, “Next year I need to improve my focus, and I want to really push Brady and have him push me more in training so we can elevate our performance to the next level.”

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.

Ellison and Koehl Win U.S. Open Titles!

Hamilton, OH – Brady Ellison and Heather Koehl won Gold Medals at the 2009 U.S. Open over a field of extremely qualified competitors. Fellow Resident Athletes Jake Kaminski and Kristin Braun made it to the medals matches as well and finished 4th in their respective divisions.

Brady Ellison shot impressive scores throughout the day as he won his 3rd consecutive U.S. Open Title. Ellison said, “I feel like I got lucky this year, although I shot my best average ever. I need to shoot more and train harder. My last 2 matches were my lower matches, and next year I need to shoot 114 or higher all the way through.” Ellison will compete at the World Championships in Ulsan, South Korea next month. According to Ellison, “I think this gave me a lot of confidence. In the Olympic Round, I was able to step up and shoot the way I need to be successful at the World Championships. It gives me a lot of confidence and I’m excited for the

Heather Koehl had her best competition of the year winning the U.S. Open in the Women’s Division over 2 time Olympian Jennifer Nichols. In the semi-final match, Heather defeated team mate Kristin Braun 111-105. Heather then went on to defeat Nichols 109-106. When asked about her performance for the day, Heather explains, “It was fun! It felt like I was able to apply my training to the competition. When I got to the Gold Medal match I was just focused on shooting one arrow at a time. I wasn’t listening to what everyone else was saying or what Jenny was shooting. It feels so good to finally get something out of my hard work.”

Kristin Braun finished 4th overall and was defeated by Khatuna Lorig in the Bronze Medal Match by 1 point! Kristin will be competing with Brady Ellison at the upcoming World Championships. Kristin was excited about the competition and says, “The competition has highlighted the things I need to work on, and I have a plan of action from now till the time I leave. This performance has definitely left me hungry for more!”

Overall, the Resident Athlete Program Coaching Staff was extremely impressed with the performance of the athletes in the U.S. Open. Assistant Coach, Guy Krueger explained, “This year was all about developing a strong foundation in our archers for the next Olympics. I think it’s safe to say that they exceeded expectations. We really weren’t focused on the outcome of events, just preparing them technically and mentally to become champions in the next few years.”

Most of the Resident Athletes will now enjoy some time with their families before beginning training September 1st for training for the next year. Coach Lee says the next 3 months will focus on increasing physical strength and improving mental toughness!

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.

Kristin Braun: Making the World Team at 18

About making the team at such a young age…..

When asked to write about making the US World Team at such a young age, I was at first puzzled. Was I really that young? Does my age make such a difference?

Going into the tournament, I felt like I had lost my rhythm, I couldn’t find the natural feeling of good shots. I was forced to will each arrow where I wanted it to go, sometimes more successfully than others. It was exhausting but my efforts were successful; I made the 2009 US World Team. I have a desire and responsibility to perform my best and each success I have motivates me to work harder, work smarter, be better than I am. I train with enthusiastic anticipation for the challenges to come and with each passing day strive to be a better athlete, competitor, and person…regardless of my age.

- Kristin Madeleine Braun

www.kmbraun.com

Ellison Qualifies #1 in Porec – Finishes 4th

Tuesday May 5, 2009 - Individual qualification day for recurve at the World Cup Stage 2 in Porec (CRO).

Brady Ellison posts a 1342 and secured a #1 ranking during the qualification rounds on Tuesday. Ellison also has registered and shot in the Compound division in order for the USA to field a full three person team and compete in the team competition.

USA Recurve Men Qualification Results:

• Ellison #1 – 1342
• Wunderle #23 – 1304
• Kaminski #53 – 1259
• Domenech #58 – 1240

USA Recurve Women Qualification Results:

• Koehl #45 – 1255
• Braun #57 – 1206
• Carter #59 – 1190

Wednesday May 6, 2009 – Individual qualification day for compound at the World Cup Stage 2 in Porec (CRO).

Jamie Van Natta continues her dominance of the World Cup circuit with another #1 ranking and a score of 1410. Braden Gellenthien lead the compound men with a 1406 for a #5 rank headed into the elimination rounds.

USA Compound Men Qualification Results:

• Gellenthien #5 – 1406
• Ellison #25 – 1385
• Gato #36 – 1378

USA Compound Women Qualification Results:

• Van Natta #1 – 1410
• Johnston #35 – 1351

Thursday May 7, 2009 – Individual eliminations day at the World Cup Stage 2 in Porec (CRO).

Recurve Men – Ellison will shoot for the bronze on Saturday, May 9th in the finals as he knocked off Satir (TUR) 111-107 in the 1/32 round, Havelko (UKR) 112-109 in the 1/16 round, Abramov (RUS) 108-105 in the 1/8 round and Marusau (BLR) 111-109 in the 1/4 finals.  He was upset by 2004 Olympic Champion, Galiazzo (ITA) 111-113 in the semi-finals.  Ellison will go up against Valladont (FRA) for the Bronze medal on Saturday. Kaminski, Domenech and Wunderle were all eliminated in the 1/32 round. Kaminski was defeated by 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Ruban (UKR) 100-110, Domenech was defeated by Banerjee (IND) 102-112 and Wunderle lost to Pertlik (CZE) 108-112.

Recurve Women – Kristin Braun had a incredible day as she finished 10th overall, an impressive finish considering her rank of 57th going into the elimination rounds.  Braun pulled a major upset during the 1/32 round beatting #8 ranked Zhu (CHN) 102-101. During the 1/16 round she tied with her competitor Buitron (ESP) 96-96 and shot a 10 during the shoot off to Buitron’s 7 to advance.  She nearly won her 1/8 match with another tie, this time with Zhang (CHN) 107-107. However, Braun shot a 7 to Zhang’s 9 in the shoot-off. Koehl and Carter were both eliminated in the 1/32 round.  Koehl was defeated by Marusava (BLR) 101-105 and Carter lost to Lionetti (ITA) 90-109.

Compound Men – All three compound men were eliminated in the 1/16th round, Gellenthien lost to Hasenfuss (GER) 113-114, Ellison lost to Trillus (CAN) 111-113 and Gato lost to Jimenez (ESA) 110-117.

Compound Women – Van Natta was upset in the 1/4 finals by Weihe (GER) 112-114 and Johnston lost in the 1/8 round to Bosch (VEN) 107-109.

Mixed Team – The U.S. fielded one Compound Mixed Team of Braden Gellenthien and Jamie Van Natta.  The pair made it to the finals match where they were defeated by Italy 154-156.

Friday May 8, 2009 - Team eliminations day at the World Cup Stage 2 in Porec (CRO).

Recurve Men – Team of Domenech, Ellison and Wunderle defeated Malaysia in the 1/8 elimination 221-213 and lost to India in the 1/4 elimination 218-227.

Recurve Women – Team of Braun, Carter and Koehl lost in the 1/8 elimination to the team from the P.R. China 197-215.

Compound Men – Team of Ellison, Gatto and Gellenthien defeated Turkey in the 1/8 elimination 225-179 and lost in the 1/4 elimination to Germany after a two-end shoot-off 227T (29;27) – 227T (29;28).

Compound Women – USA did not field a team

Saturday May 9, 2009 - Individual and Team Finals at the World Cup Stage 2 in Porec (CRO).

Recurve Men Bronze Medal Match – Ellison was the only American shooting on the finals day.  Ellison shot against Valladont (FRA) for the Bronze Medal.  They had an incredible match that ended in a tie 114-114. Both of their first shots in the shoot-off were 8s. On their second arrows Ellison shat a 9 to Valladont’s 10.

For complete results, please see the FITA website at www.archery.org/

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.

Doinker Texas Shootout & South Regional 2009

April 24-26, 2009

Coming off dominating outings at the Mexican Grand Prix in Tijuana and the AAE Arizona Cup in Phoenix, the hopes of the team were high coming into College Station. The team recurve competitions took place on Saturday and the individual meet happened on Sunday. Both events were held at the lacrosse fields on the campus of Texas A&M University.

The team events ended very well for the USA hopefuls. The women’s and men’s teams both captured the gold and bronze medals in their respective competitions. The team details follow:

• Women’s bronze winning team consisted of Emily Blake and Barbie Cyin
• Women’s gold winning team consisted of Kristin Braun, Megan Carter, and Heather Koehl
• Men’s bronze winning team consisted of Peter Kelchner, Tyler Schardt, and Josh Smith
• Men’s gold winning team consisted of Tyler Domenech, Brady Ellison, and Jake Kaminski
• On Sunday, the women dominated the podium, with Heather Koehl taking the silver and Kristin Braun winning bronze. Close on their heels was Megan Carter who finished 5th overall.

The men had a solid day albeit with less success than they had seen in previous meets. Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski wound up going head to head in the final rounds and placed 5th and 4th respectively overall. While they were both disappointed in not reaching the podium, the two competitors both showed strong marks and consistency throughout the two-day event.

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.

For an expanded version of this press release and more pictures, please go to: (www.taxmasterscharities.com/about/us-archery/doinker-texas-shootout/)

Jake Kaminsky: Thoughts on Breaking the 1300 Barrier

Now, many people would be absolutely ecstatic about shooting over a 1300 in competition. This used to be a standard score to shoot for to be internationally competitive as an archer.
Just like everything else times have changed and so have the scores to be competing with the best of the best. I would say that a 1330 is the new score to strive for in international competition to me minimally competitive. So a 1320 to me is still not quite where i want to minimally be.
The weeks prior to the trials I was shooting in the 1310′s pretty regularly. The week before the trials I began to start shooting in the 1320+ barrier, breaking personal bests over and over every day leading up to the trials. I shot 1320, 1330, 1321 the few days leading up to trials prior to the official practice day.
So basically to me, shooting a 1320 at trials and ‘breaking’ that 1300 barrier really isn’t that big of a deal to me as I have my sights set on much higher goals then that. I also could have very easily shot in the 1340′s with the opening PB I shot at 90M and 50M PB. I am ready to shoot higher scores and give Brady a run for his money. Time will only allow me to do this as I will continue to work towards my goals and exceeding them looking toward new horizons.

USA Archery Resident Athlete Team Opens with Big Success in Mexico

US Team wins 6 finals medals and 22 individual distance medals at the 2009 Mexican Grand Prix.

Both men’s and women’s recurve teams won GOLD in both team events defeating the Mexican National Team in close matches. Matt Zumbo (a cadet on the Junior Dream Team) won the GOLD in the junior men’s recurve division. Jake Kaminski (Resident Athlete – Chula Vista, CA) won the SILVER medal in the men’s recurve division, and Kristin Braun (Resident Athlete – Chula Vista, CA) won the BRONZE medal in the women’s recurve division. The U.S. Team represented by the Resident Athlete Program, Matt Zumbo, and Cassandra Wolf also won 22 other medals awarded for top 3 placement at each distance and for overall placement.

The Women’s Recurve Team (Red Team – Kristin Braun, Megan Carter, and Heather Koehl) came from behind on the last end to defeat Mexico 206-204 and win the GOLD. The Mexican team consisted of 2 of the top 16 finishers from the 2008 Olympics. The U.S. Women’s Blue Team (Emily Blake, Barbie Cyin, and Cassandra Wolf) won the BRONZE medal.

The Men’s Recurve Team (Brady Ellison, Josh Smith, and Tyler Schardt) won the GOLD Medal defeating Mexico by one point 214-213.

In the Individual Finals, Matt Zumbo won the Junior Male Recurve Division by defeating Felix Gomez 101-97 in the finals. Jake Kaminski won the SILVER Medal in the Men’s Recurve division. In the Semi-finals, Kaminski defeated Juan Serrano, the #4 finisher and #1 seed from the Beijing Olympics. Luis Velez won the GOLD over Kaminski in a very windy final 104-102. Kristin Braun won the BRONZE Medal easily defeating Gina Gonzalez from Mexico 109-94. Braun tied Mariana Avitia from Mexico in the semi-finals but lost 10-9 on the one arrow shoot off.

Medals were also given out for each of the 4 distances in the qualification round. Brady Ellison won 4 medals (2 gold and 2 silver) and was the #1 qualifier in the Men’s Recurve Division. Jake Kaminski won 2 bronze medals and was the #3 qualifier. Kristin Braun won 3 bronze medals and was the #3 qualifier as well. Heather Koehl won 2 silver medals. In the Junior Division, Peter Kelchner won 4 medals(1 gold, 3 bronze), Matt Zumbo won 3 medals(1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze), and Josh Smith won 4 medals including 2 gold and 2 silver medals.

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.