Team USA’s James Lutz Wins World Cup Compound Gold
During the recent World Cup Medellin (Columbia) competition, Team USA’s James Lutz (above) topped the podium individually in men’s compound, and he took silver with fellow American Linda Ochoa-Anderson in the mixed team compound competition. Note: The second place finish means Ochoa-Anderson has one final medal to add to her collection before retiring from the archery World Cup circuit; she’s taken part in 40 World Cup stages.
Lutz and Ochoa-Anderson started at an even pace of split 39s with Denmark in the gold medal match. But Tanja Gellenthien and Mathias Fullerton picked up the pace and never relented winning the match 157-150.
“Of course, I wish it was a gold medal, but to me just being here shooting in the finals was very special,” said Team Hoyt’s Ochoa-Anderson. “I did my best, and Jimmy did, too. He really wanted to win for me because he knew it was my last one. He shot amazing and that’s why we were here at the finals.”
The rain started coming down in the afternoon during the individual semifinals as Lutz faced France’s Jean Philippe Boulch, who is ranked third in the world. The first end was split with each archer dropping only a single point. Lutz had a perfect second end, while Boulch took a 26, which was the beginning of the end for him as Lutz took the win 147-143.
Lutz went on to face Miguel Becerra from Mexico, who dropped only two arrows in his semifinals match. The two archers similarly tied the first end with 29s, but Becerra had a shocking miss in the second end that cost him the match. Lutz continued to shoot three perfect ends winning the match 148-138. Note: Lutz shoots a Darton Tempest E-3D, 29-inch draw length, 60-pound draw weight.
With the stage win, Lutz qualified for the World Archery Finals October 15-16.
“I’m happy to go to Mexico, but I’m heartbroken for Miguel,” said Lutz. “I’m back and I feel like I’m back. I needed to shoot my butt off. With what we’re doing here, every millimeter matters.”
Final results from World Cup Medellin are available by clicking here.
Team USA’s Kaufhold and Williams Win World Cup Mixed Team Silver
The USA recurve team of Casey Kaufhold and Jack Williams won mixed team silver, and Williams finished fourth at the World Cup Medellin (Columbia), the fourth stage of 2022 season.
After defeating the top-ranked Korean team in a semifinals upset, Kaufhold and Williams earned their spot in the finals against Chinese Taipei. The match was tied after the fourth end leading to a shoot-off. Unfortunately, Team USA’s 10, 9 couldn’t match Chinese Taipei’s X, X.
Williams went on to shoot against Korea’s Kim Woojin in the semifinals in the afternoon. Williams was able to keep pace, but Kim won the final end by a single point to take the match and advance to the gold medal match.
Williams faced Miguel Alvarino Garcia from Spain in the bronze medal match. Alvarino Garcia was ahead after the first two ends followed Williams earning two points. It was double 28s that split the end of the match, and Williams was defeated 4-6. Both Kaufhold and Williams shoot Hoyt recurves.
Sara Lopez Sets New World Record
With the final event of the four-stage archery World Cup taking place recently in Medellin, Columbia, the pressure was on every shooter to try to earn a slot at the World Cup Finals scheduled for this October in Mexico. Once again, Team Easton produced the results that swept the entire recurve field, and saw yet another new world record with the Easton X10 from Columbian compound star Sara Lopez — the winningest archer in World Cup history.
Lopez shot a perfect 150-12X to edge the record from American archer Linda Ochoa-Anderson, whose achievement, also set with the X10, stood for nearly 5 years. Her new world record matches that of the men’s compound, shot by American archer Reo Wilde, also with the X10, in 2015 at the World Cup in China.
Lopez earned a slot for the World Cup finals, an event she has won numerous times, on her way to the podium in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
In men’s compound, “Mister Perfect” Mike Schloesser from the Netherlands once again took pole position in the qualification round with his ongoing streak of No. 1 slots at World Cups, making this seven in a row since 2019.
Recurve action saw the return of Team Korea to the top of the podium, with world No. 1 recurve man KIM Woojin winning the gold medal, and Olympic star AN San taking her first win nearly 1 year to the day of her Olympic gold medal anniversary. Recurve mixed team saw Taiwan’s LEI Chien-ying and TANG Chih-chun beat Team USA’s Casey Kaufold and Brady Ellison for the gold medal after Team USA beat Korea in the preliminary rounds.
Easton X10 shooters took all 30/30 medals in the 70-meter recurve event, and 20/30 in the 50-meter compound round.
Team Bowtech’s Paige Pearce and Tim Gillingham Win Gold at NFAA Outdoor Field Nationals
Bowtech pro shooters Paige Pearce and Tim Gillingham recently won gold at the NFAA Outdoor National Field Championships in Enola, Pennsylvania. This is a rigorous, multi-discipline tournament that challenges archers to perform at their best, both physically and mentally.
After winning gold in the Women's Pro division, Paige said, "NFAA Field Nationals is one of my favorite shoots of the year. It is incredibly challenging, especially since the X ring is scored as a 6. It is the ultimate game of precision and endurance, and I love that challenge. After a busy few weeks remodeling a new house, I was a little worried about how the weekend would go. But the forgiveness of my Reckoning 38 really shined through and allowed me to shoot a great score all 3 days and walk away with the win."
“She is treating us to some intense performances this year,” said Jeff Suiter, director of marketing for Pure Archery Group. “She is truly a skilled archer who envelopes all the attributes of a champion. Bowtech is proud of Paige’s success and honored that she is part of our team.”
Tim Gillingham agrees that the NFAA Outdoor Field Nationals is a demanding test. “Field archery is a game of precision where you cannot afford to have any problems with your equipment, especially in the Pro Divisions where we score the X-ring,” he said. “I watched several of my competition chasing their bow and made me thankful to be shooting my Reckoning 38.” Gillingham took first place in the Senior Men's Pro division.
Note: 15-year-old Bodie Turner (below), who is a member of Team Hoyt, took first place in Men’s Pro at the NFAA Outdoor National Field Championships. Turner started fast and took it wire to wire in the 3-day event.
