Results

Williamsburg, KY – The University of the Cumberlands archery team set a conference recorded finishing with 225 points, including a conference-best 11 gold medals to capture the Mid-South Conference Outdoor Championship crown Saturday afternoon at the UC All-Purpose Field.  The win completes UC's sweep of the three conference events as the Patriots garnered their fifth straight MSC overall title with 30 points.

In addition to taking home the team title, UC had multiple archers garner top honors.  Marissa Harding was named the MSC Women's Shooter of the Year after winning the women's compound division at 3D before posting back-to-back runner-up finishes. 

The Patriots swept the Freshman of the Year awards as Brianna Laux and Connor Mullis garnered the honors.  Laux closed out conference by taking top honors in the women's recurve division at both the 3D and outdoor Championships.  The Lowell, MI native broke the program record during qualification with a 617 and was a MSC First Team All-Conference selection.  Mullis was a second team all-conference selection that scored in all three conference events.

UC Head Coach Kris Strebeck garnered the MSC Coach of the Year award for the third straight year and the fourth time overall.  For the second straight year, Caleb Kirby was named the MSC Assistant Coach of the Year.  The duo have helped lead the Patriots to both the 3D and Indoor national titles as well as conference success.
 

Cumberlands tallied 11 podium finishes including five conference champions during head-to-head matches Saturday.  Madison Cox, Laux, Jonathan Morris, Kennedy Sumpter, and Kimber Wheeler all earned gold in their respective divisions.  Cox continue her seamless transition to compound as she went 4-0 to finish atop the podium. After winning her first match, the McKee, KY native defeated Alyssa Sturgill 146-144 to advance to the semifinals.  Cox knocked off Madison Grimm, before carding two 30's and a pair of 29's in the championship match to defeat Harding 146-144. 

Harding finished runner-up after going 3-1 after carding at least a 144 in three of the four matches.  Grimm defeated Anna Scarbrough of Pikeville 146-139 in the bronze medal match to complete the Patriots podium sweep in the women's compound division.

Laux was dominant in head-to-head eliminations outscoring her opponent 19-1 over her three matches.  The freshman posted consecutive 6-0 wins, before jumping out to a 2-0 lead on Olivia Hale in the first end.  The two competitors tied the second end, however, Laux closed out with back-to-back 27's to take the championship match 7-1. Ceridwyn Salyers overcame a 4-0 deficit in the quarterfinals to win 6-4 and place fourth overall. 

Morris entered as the seventh-seed in the men's barebow division and took out both of the top-two seeds en route to a gold medal.  After winning his opening match, the sophomore carded a 29 in the fourth end to knock off second-seed Kyle Coffey of Union 7-1. Morris rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the semifinals to win 6-4 over Aden Koelling before winning the final three ends to defeat top-seed Tyler Woosley 7-3 in the championship match.  Woosley won his first three matches before earning a runner-up finish.

Sumpter won the women's barebow division for the second straight year after posting a 4-0 record.  The sophomore cruised through her first three matches outscoring her opposition 18-2.  In the gold medal match, Sumpter took the first two ends before Chondani Mckenna-Vega evened the score at 4-4.  In the fifth end, Sumpter carded a 24 to win the end and the title.  Hallie Young earned a fourth place finish to score five points for the Patriots.

In the women's fixed pins division it was third-seed Kimber Wheeler capturing her first individual conference title.  Wheeler improved on her score in each of the four rounds culminating in a 142-137 win over teammate Kaitlyn Shields in the gold medal match.  Shields earned runner-up honors after finishing with a 3-1 record. 

After earning the top-seed, Clay Weaver opened the men's recurve division with a 6-0 win.  The senior notched a 6-4 win over Tim Smith in the semifinals before finishing runner-up.  Kevin Wilkerson earned a fourth-place finish.

UC's final podium finish came in men's compound, where Blaine Kostrzewski earned the bronze.  Kostrzewski won his first two matches and rallied for a 147-139 win over Jared Laux in the third place match.

The Patriots close out the conference season with ten archers earning all-conference honors, including six First-Team All-Conference selections.  Earning first team honors were Marissa Harding, Hunter Larese, Brianna Laux, Kaitlyn Shields, Kennedy Sumpter, and Tyler Woosley, while Cole Zeug and Matthew England were Second Team All-Conference honorees.  Madison Cox made conference history becoming the first archer to earn all-conference honors in two divisions as she was a Second Team All-Conference honoree in both the women's fixed pins and women's compound division.

Cumberlands will now set its sights on the USA Outdoor National Championship which is set to begin May 18 in Statesboro, GA.

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