Williamsburg, KY – For the second consecutive year, the Patriots archery team captured the USA Indoor Collegiate Archery national championships, it was announced Friday.  Cumberlands earn 172 points across all event throughout the championship to successfully defend their title.

"It is incredible to capture the USA Indoor National Championship for the second straight," said Head Coach Kris Strebeck.  "I'm really proud of the hard work the athletes put in during indoor season and we had contributions from every division."

UC earned eight podium finishes in the individual events highlighted by Connor Mullis capturing his first individual national title.  Mullis carded an 1193, with 113 ten's throughout qualification to land on the top spot.  The sophomore carded a perfect 300 in the final round to break the previous record by four points. 

Teammate Colton Caudill placed third in the event after carding an 1191 over the four rounds.  It was a new career-high score for the sophomore as he earned his second individual bronze medal.

The Patriots had a trio of national runner-up finishes.   Isaac Sullivan earned his second consecutive podium finish as he carded an 1193 to place runner-up in the men's compound division.  Sullivan broke Jase Boils school record of 1183 set back at that 2022 championship.

Kaitlyn Shields led a trio of top-five Patriots finishes in the women's fixed pins division.  Shields carded a 299 in the final round to close out the championship with an 1180 for a second place finish.  That score ties Shields' career high and ranks third in program history.  Julia Shepherd recorded a third place finish after carding an 1178, with 99 ten's, while Kimber Wheeler finished just off the podium in fourth with an 1171.

Madison Cox added her program's best 12^th podium finish as she earned a runner-up finish in the women's compound division.  The McKee, KY native carded a n 1161 over the four rounds.  Marissa Harding placed third with an 1159 for her third career podium finish.

In the barebow division, Tyler Woosley earned the bronze medal after carding a 1032.  It marks the fifth individual podium finish for Woosley, who is now tied with Caleb Kirby and Aaron Adams for second most in program history.

Cole Zeug (men's compound) and Natalie Cummins (women's barebow) earned a fifth place finish as they carded an 1179 and 957, respectively.  Brianna Laux rounds out UC's individual points as her 1109 garnered seventh place.

In addition to their individual podium finishes, Cumberlands captured six national titles in the team division along with four additional podium finishes.

The Patriots swept the top podium spot in all three compound and fixed pins division.  Sullivan and Zeug teamed up for gold in the men's compound team round edging out Lindsey Wilson by one point.  Cox and Harding combined for a 2320 for gold in the women's compound, while Sullivan and Cox pulled away from the field in the mixed compound with a score of 2354.

The duo Mullis and Caudill combined for a 2384 to win the men's fixed team round, while Shields and Shepherd carded a 2358 for the nine point win in the women's fixed pins team.  Mullis and Shields also garnered gold in the mixed fixed pins division.

UC earned a pair of national runner-up finishes in the barebow team division as Woosley and Nicolas Mudd earned silver in the men's barebow division with a score of 1961.  Woosley also teamed with Cummins for a runner-up finish in mixed barebow as the duo scored an 1989.

The Patriots final two podium finishes came in men's recurve and mixed recurve.  Reed Goodpaster and Clay Weaver scored a 2190 to earn bronze in the men's recurve division while Goodpaster and Laux teamed up for bronze in the recurve mixed teams with a score of 2204 to finish runner-up.

Texas A&M placed runner-up with 153 points, while MSC rivals Pikeville, Lindsey Wilson, and Union round out the top five. 

Cumberlands will now turn their attention to outdoor regionals in April.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.