Williamsburg, KY – The Cumberlands archery captured 12 gold medals and 26 podium finishes en route to scoring 223 points to win the Mid-South Conference outdoor archery championship Saturday afternoon at the UC All Purpose Field.  The Patriots have won all three legs of conference championship to win their eighth consecutive overall conference title.

In addition to capturing the team title, UC garnered a plethora of top honors.  Hannah Summers was named the co-MSC Women's Shooter of the Year, while Chase White and Isabell Lehsten earned MSC Freshman of the Year honors.  For the sixth straight year, Patriots Head Coach Kris Strebeck was named the MSC Coach of the Year as Assistant Coach Caleb Kirby earned MSC Assistant Coach of the Year for the fifth time. In addition, UC has 11 MSC All-Conference archers.

UC set the tone in the women's compound division as the Patriots swept the top-four spots.  Lilie Aguilar posted a 3-0 record to finish atop the podium.  Aguilar opened with a 141-140 in the quarterfinals, before winning a one-arrow shoot-off against teammate Marissa Harding in the semifinals.  In the finals, Aguilar topped Brielle Ochnich 142-141 to capture gold.  Ochnich knocked off fourth-seed Lanie Nish in the quarterfinals as part of a 3-1 record on the day to place second.  Claire Garrison knocked off the top-seed and the third-seed en route to earned a podium finish, while Harding earned five points for her fourth place finish.

The Patriots had the top-two finishers in both the men's fixed pins division as well as the women's barebow division.  In men's fixed pins, top-seed Aiden Woodie notched a 4-0 record to claim the top-spot.  Woodie cruised to his first two-wins, before defeating Nate Harper (UPike) in a one-arrow shoot-off.  In the finalize the freshman defeated Jackson Ratajczak 146-140 to capture his first individual conference title.  Ratajczak won his first three matches before earning a runner-up finish. 

In the women's barebow, the top-two seeds of Erin Heyob and Isabell Lehsten were on a collision course to meet in the finals.  Both archers notched a 3-0 record defeating the third and fourth-seed in the semifinals.  In the finals, Heyob and Lehsten were tied at 5-5 after five ends, however, Heyob won the one-arrow shoot-off to capture gold, while Lehsten earned silver. 

After earning the top-seed in women's fixed pins, Summers notched a 4-0 record.  The sophomore tallied 140 points in both of her first two matches, before defeating Emma Willis 141-135 in the semifinals.  Summers capped off the day with a 141-137 win over Emma Kist to finish atop the podium.  It was Summers second podium finish this season as she notched a third place finish at 3D.

White utilized consistent shooting throughout the day to win the men's barebow title.  White opened with a 6-0 win in the quarters, before defeating Zach Matthews 6-2 in the semifinals.  The freshman jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the finals before winning a one-arrow shoot-off against Kyle Coffey to earn gold.  White has now won both the indoor and outdoor conference titles.   Mathews went 2-1 on the day with a 6-5 win over Keegan Benton (Lindsey Wilson) in the bronze medal match.

In women's recurve, second-seed Lidia Quezada posted a 4-0 record to capture the title.  Quezada tallied 6-0 wins in her first two matches, before earning a 6-4 win over Kaylee Wilson in the semifinals.  In the gold medal match, Quezada tailed 5-3 entering the fifth end, which she won 28-27 to force a shoot-off.  The grad student won the one-arrow shoot-off over Olivia Hale (Pikeville) to finish atop the podium.

In men's recurve, fifth-seed Roman Carpenter notched his first podium finish of the season.  Carpenter defeated Kole Whalen 6-4, before knocking off top-seed Jack Dinapoli (Pikeville) 6-0 in the semifinals.  The junior won the first end of the finals but fell 6-2 earning the runner-up finish. 

Noah Coyle went 3-1 to tally a runner-up finish in the men's compound class.  After winning his first two matches, Coyle knocked off top-seed Blaine Kostrzewski 146-144 in the semifinals, before being edged out in the finals 143-142.  Kostrzewski rallied in the bronze medal match defeating Sergion Martinez (Union) 145-140 to earn the podium finish.
 
Cumberlands led the way with 11 archers garner MSC All-Conference honors with six archers garnering first team accolades.  Those six archers are Isabell Lehsten (barebow), Lanie Nish (compound), Lidia Quezada (recurve), Jackson Ratajczak (fixed pins), Hannah Summers (fixed pins), and Joseph West (fixed pins).  Joining that group on the all-conference list are Lilie Aguilar (compound), Noah Coyle (Cumberlands), Ayla Mills (fixed pins), Ceridwyn Salyers (recurve), and Chase White (barebow).

The Patriots will now turn their attention to USA Outdoor Nationals, May 14-17, in Lansing, MI.
 
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