London, KY – The Cumberlands archery team picked up right where they left off with ten podium finishes and 17 top five qualifiers at the USA 3D Regional Championship Friday afternoon at the Fairgrounds. Of the ten podium finishers UC captured three regional championships, including sweeping the podium in the women's compound division.

"I'm really proud of the way our team performed throughout this championship," said Head Coach Kris Strebeck.  "We had a lot of archers step up, make the necessary adjustments and put us in a favorable position for the conference championship."

Marissa Harding, Connor Mullis, and Madison Cox each captured the regional gold in their respective divisions.

Harding opened the day with a 214 in the first round to be tied for the individual lead.  The sophomore came back with a 218 in the second round to captured gold by six points after finishing with a 432 and 21-12's.  Hannah Moose recorded the highest round score of the day carding a 224 in the second round to rally for a silver medal with a 426.  Danielle Woodie saw an 11-point improvement from round one  to round two as she tallied a 425 to earn bronze and complete the sweep.  Brooke Miller and Amanda Newland also notched top ten finishes with a 415 and 414, respectively.

Mullis notched an impressive Patriot debut earning gold in the men's fixed pins division.  The Barbourville, KY native recorded a 422 with 14 12's to earn the top spot.  Hunter Larese was consistent over both rounds to finish with a 418 to take home the bronze medal.   Jaden Taylor advanced to the conference shoot-off after placing fourth with a 416 and 16 12's.  Elliott Cross and Matthew England finished with a 410 and 399, respectively, to finish eighth and tenth overall.

Cox led wire-to-wire posting the best score in each of the two rounds to earn first place in women's fixed pins class.  Cox notched a 214 in the opening round and followed it up with a 208 to total a 422 with 13 12's, which is the highest score in program history at a regional.  Teammate Julia Shepherd posted one of the four total rounds over 200 as she carded a 204 in the second round to finish the day at 396 to finish runner-up. 

UC's depth was on full display in this division as the Patriots took six of the final eight spots in the top ten.  Newcomer Ela Smallacombe finished fourth with a 392 and 10 12's.  Kaitlyn Shields, the reigned co-MSC Archer of the Year, qualified fifth with a 383, while Cammie Shuman carded a 374 to round out the four archers that advanced to the conference championships.  Morgan Bussert (370), Anna Jo Rush (370), and Kimber Wheeler (365) each recorded a top-ten finish on the day.
Cole Zeug earned a silver medal in the men's compound division.  The sophomore mirrored his score of 224 in both rounds to finish the day with a 448.  That score was the second best score at a regional championship and the tenth-best score in program history.

UC had three of the top-five finishers in the women's recurve division led by newcomer Brianna Laux, who carded the second highest score in program history with a 400.  That score earned her a runner-up finish, while Whitney Vandiver garnered the bronze with a 383.  Two points off the podium was Lidia Quezada, who finished with a 381 to advance to the shoot downs.  Ceridwyn Salyers (354) and Ayla Alibegovic (350) both finished inside the top-ten.

Clay Weaver and Jacob Valentini recorded top-five finishes in the men's recurve division. Weaver, who's competing in his first 3D tournament as a recurve archer, carded a 400 to place fourth.  That score is also the second highest score in program history.  Valentini closed out one spot back with a 393.  Reed Goodpaster placed sixth after tallying a 379 with five 12's.

Elijah Crawford was the lone barebow shooter to advance to the conference shoot downs.  Crawford carded a 319 to finish fifth overall.

Overall, Cumberlands had 17 archers advance to the individual shoot downs at the conference tournament and earned the top-seed seven divisions of team rounds.

The Mid-South Conference 3D Championship is slated for Saturday, September 24, at the UC All-Purpose Field.  Cumberlands is seeking sixth straight conference championships.

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