Madisonville, KY – With fifteen gold medals up for grabs on Sunday, five team gold medals along with three individual golds would be won by the Patriots as they earned the 2019 Mid-South Conference Indoor Championship. A total of forty-five medals were awarded with UC garnering 13 including eight gold, four silvers, and a bronze.
 
Cumberlands would bring home gold in Bowhunter and Compound team rounds, including sweeping the Compound division.
 
Beginning with the Women's Bowhunter Team division, the team of Courtnie Carr, McKenzie Gaines, and Michaela McDonald entered the day as the second seed. They would knock off seventh-seed Georgetown College in the opening round 233-203 before defeating third-seeded Kentucky Christian University in the semifinals 233-218. In the finals facing top seeded Union College, the Patriots would edge out the Bulldogs 234-233 to earn the gold.
 
The Men's Bowhunter Team division saw the Patriots' team of Aaron Adams, Caleb Dixon, and Josh Isaacs earn the second seed. UC would earn the win in the semifinals, defeating third-seeded University of Pikeville 238-220. Facing top seeded Union in the finals, the Patriots would come up just short with the Bulldogs defeating Cumberlands 235-233, giving the UC the silver medal.
 
The Bowhunter Mixed division would see the Patriots be represented by Carr and Adams, who earned the number two seed overall. After defeating seventh-seeded Bethel 159-0, it would take extra arrows to move on from there. In the semifinal round against third-seed Kentucky Christian University, the score was tied 158-158 as the teams would go to a one-arrow shoot-off with each archer getting one arrow. The Patriots would nab a total of 20 while KCU would only score 19, sending UC to the finals. Awaiting Cumberlands was top-seeded Union College, but the Patriots would upend the Bulldogs 158-157 to earn another team gold.
 
Turning to the Compound division, the Women's Team rounds would see the Patriots represented by Tara Currie, Brooke Miller, and Samantha Rayburn earn the second seed. In the semifinal round, the Patriots would defeat the third-seeded Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson College by a score of 229-222. Going against the Bulldogs of Union in the finals, the Patriots would again defeat Union by a score of 233-227, earning another gold medal.
 
The Men's Compound Team division saw the Patriots as the top seed represented by Jase Boils, Josh Isenhoff, and Clint Moore. UC would cruise by the fourth-seeded Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson in the semi-finals 235-216 before meeting up with the Bulldogs of Union in the finals. There again, the Patriots would come away with another gold medal defeating the Bulldogs by a score of 236-230.
 
In the Mixed Compound Team rounds, the second-seeded Patriots of Currie and Isenhoff defeated third-seeded KCU 154-153 as well as top-seeded Union in the championship 152-151 to bring home a fifth team gold.
 
During individual competition, the Patriots would flourish again. Starting in the Women's Bowhunter division, Carr would earn the number two seed of 28 competitors. She earned wins over UPike's Makayla Erwin-McFarland 149-135, LWC's Courtney Blevins 148-135, and KCU's Sarah Purtee 149-147. In the championship match, Carr would fall to top-seeded Haley Golden of Union College 150-148 to earn the silver medal.
 
The Men's Bowhunter division saw two Patriots make their way onto the podium. Top-seeded Aaron Adams and fifth-seeded Caleb Dixon would face teammates in their opening matches. Adams would defeat Jacob Valentini 149-144 while Dixon would defeat Isaiah Huddleston 148-137 to move on to the quarterfinals. Both would be successful here as Adams upended KCU's Justin Fairchild (#8) 148-144 while Dixon knocked off LWC's Taylor Bell (#4) 147-146, setting up a meeting between the two in the semifinals.
 
There, it would come down to a one arrow shoot-off after the two tied 147-147. Dixon would come away with the win, sending him to the gold medal match and Adams to the bronze medal match. Adams would defeat teammate Josh Issacs in the bronze medal match 146-144. Dixon would take down Union's Jeffrey Grubb (#6) by a score of 148-147 to give the Patriots another gold medal.
 
In the Women's Recurve division, Miranda Lauria would earn the top seed but would go 1-1 to earn the silver medal. She would first win her semifinal match 7-1 over Tori Gayheart of UPike before falling too Elizabeth Jones of UPike in the championships match by a final total of 6-0.
 
Finally, in the Compound division, the Patriots would earn two final gold medals as well as a silver medal. In Women's Compound, sixth-seeded Brooke Miller had a great day. She began with a win over LWC's Ashlyn Scriven 146-143 to move to the quarterfinals. There, she would defeat LWC's Abigail Kaysinger144-136 to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, she defeated her third straight Blue Raider in Madison Hart 146-143 to earn a spot in the championship match. Miller would continue her fantastic showing with an upset victory over top-seeded Jamilee Moore of Union by a score of 146-145 to earn the gold medal.
 
The Men's Compound division would have the most exciting finish to the day as the duo of Josh Isenhoff and Jase Boils held the top two seeds respectively entering the tournament bracket. Isenhoff earned a win over UPike's Zachary Mollett in the quarterfinals 148-141 while Boils would defeat teammate Clint Moore 148-143 to advance. In the semis, both would earn wins over Bulldogs from Union as Isenhoff knocked off Bryce Woodrome 142-141 and Boils winning via one arrow shoot-off over Lucas Roy 146-146 with Boils advancing. In the championship match between the teammates, it would take a three-arrow shoot-off after the two tied 147-147. Boils would eventually win the shoot-off to take gold while Isenhoff earned silver.
 
Full results of the tournament are available online.
 
"We had a wonderful weekend," said Cumberlands Head Coach Kris Strebeck. "The team seemed to get stronger every day and really performed at an unbelievable level this afternoon. These men and women have really worked hard since coming back from Christmas break. They came in with a mission to win the conference and did just that today. Now, we will focus on getting ready for Indoor Nationals before we get back outside and ready for the outdoor season."
 
Those who qualified will now participate at Indoor Nationals in early February in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
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