Hoyt compound & recurve shooters win big at 2010 first North American FITA Outdoor
April 10: The 2010 Arizona Cup, the first outdoor FITA event of the year in North America has once again drawn an elite field of the world's top target archers. Fierce competition and windy conditions are the norm and this year's event proved no different.
In the end, Team Hoyt picked up right where it left off last season - atop the podium once again, at this world-ranking, USAT team-qualifying tournament.
In the Men's Compound Division, Team Hoyt's Logan Wilde (USA) qualified second with a 1402 and went on to win the gold medal. The victory marked Wilde's second first-place pro finish of the season. Hoyt's Dave Cousins (USA) shot the top qualifying score with an unbelievable 1414.
Logan said "I have to give a lot of the credit for this win to my awesome Contender Elite. This bow is so consistent, I never need to worry about anything but shooting my shot."
Top past Junior World shooters Jean Pizarro (PUR) and Rigoberto Hernandez (ESA) finished second and fourth respectively for Team Hoyt in the Men's Compound Division.
Team Hoyt's women completely dominated the competition, taking all finals slots. Jamie Van Natta owned the qualification round, posting a solid 1383 - giving her a full 20-point lead over her closest competitor! Jamie carried her dominance throughout eliminations and finals, winning the gold. Felissa de la Concha (MEX) and Erika Anschutz (USA) also found the podium for Team Hoyt, winning silver and bronze respectively. Hoyt shooter Ana Cristano (MEX) rounded out the finals sweep taking fourth place.
In recurve competition, Team Hoyt continued the momentum it has shown all season. Top-ranked US shooter Brady Ellison and his Hoyt Formula RX notched an incredible 700/720 during a breezy official practice and despite tricky winds, qualified first with a 1351 - a solid 23 point margin over the second place qualifier. Ellison went on to dominate the Gold Medal match 6-0. Scoring was conducted with the new FITA Set System, similar to the scoring used in tennis.
Of the Formula Series, Brady said "This is the best bow I have ever shot - period. I'm shooting my best scores ever. It shot exactly the same in the cool morning as in the hot afternoons and exactly the same every single day of the competition. It's the most accurate bow I've ever shot."
Vetle Meland Risinggard (NOR) won the Men's Recurve bronze with his Hoyt recurve as well.
Also of note for Team Hoyt was Jeff Fabry qualifying first and ultimately winning the W1M Para Division with an outstanding 6-0 victory in the Gold Medal match and Dugie Denton winning the Men's Open Compound Division.
Hoyt would like to recognise all of its shooters for their tremendous performance at the Arizona Cup!
