Elite Archery Pros Bring Blue Wave After Rain at Ft. Benning ASA
West Henrietta, NY – The second Archery Shooters Association (ASA) competition of the year concluded Sunday after days of torrential downpour challenged every class on the range, including Elite Archery’s five pro podium finishers, Curtis Broadnax, Jacob Marlow, Mike Hulburt Sr., Morgan Rives and Kyna Stephens, and 11+ compound amateur podium finishers.
“What a busy, impressive weekend our Elite Archery shooters had – I couldn’t be more proud of how everyone showed up to compete despite the really challenging, less than ideal weather we encountered,” said Darrin Christenberry, pro staff manager. “It’s truly difficult to prepare for the shooting conditions we experienced Friday and Saturday with so much standing water, but based on the number of blue jerseys atop podiums this weekend, I’d say the weather really wasn’t much of a factor and their equipment performed as it should have!”
Qualifying in first at 50 up after the first two days of shooting in the Men’s Known Pro class, lefty Curtis Broadnax shot steady through the shootdown, then tied on the sixth and final arrow at 514 with opponent Kyle Douglas who ultimately beat him on bonus rings. Broadnax and his Verdict placed second on the weekend, while Elite shooter Justin Hannah (Verdict) placed fourth after the windy shootdown.
“Coming away from Indoor Nationals last weekend, I made some adjustments to my release and shot process and felt really great heading into Benning – despite the awful weather we had,” Broadnax said. “We all worked as a team on the range to keep bows dry during and after each shot, and I felt really confident in my Verdict to send each arrow accurately through those torrential downpours, and through the wind in the final shootdown. I’m really happy with how the weekend turned out and am looking forward to the outdoor shoot in Arizona coming up.”
Switching his game to Men’s Open Pro with great success, Jacob Marlow, having recently competed in the final shoot down of the NFAA Indoor Nationals in Kentucky, landed in third place with his Verdict after a hard fought six arrows.
“Ft. Benning is always one of my favorites, and this weekend was no exception,” Marlow said. “The weather really forced me to have a lot of focus, and that focus along with my reliant equipment helped propel me to third.”
Competing in the Women’s Known Pro class for Elite, Morgan Rives (Verdict) and rookie Kyna Stephens Ethos finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, in a close 2-point shootdown match, with Rives ultimately tying the leader at 484 but falling from first on bonus rings to the victor.
No stranger to the pressures of final shootdowns, Senior Known Pro shooter Mike Hulburt Sr. defended third place through the deciding arrows and finished there on the podium.
As of press time, the following Elite Archery amateurs posted the following podium finishes:
- Chris Curtis, 1st – Senior Known
- Joshua Calhoun, 2nd – Men’s Pins 30
- Easton Gregg, 1st – Known 40
- Ace Ashley, 1st – Open 40
- Sky Sudduth, 1st – Women’s Pins 40
- Lauren Carver, 1st – Women’s Open 45
- Savannah Hoffman, 1st – Women’s Known 45
- Jack Elliott, 1st – Senior Master Known
- Richard Waggoner, 2nd – Senior Known 50
- David Parson, 2nd – Super Senior Known
- Luke Carter, 2nd – Men’s Open 45
