Schloesser bags $20k for Lancaster Classic win

Photos courtesy Jeff Sanchez.

Mister Perfect Mike Schloesser secured his second major win of the indoor season at the 2017 Lancaster Archery Classic, held in Manheim, PA in the USA at the end of January. Schloesser, who won the second stage of the 2016/17 Indoor Archery World Cup in Bangkok, shot 12 perfect arrows in a final against Jacob Marlow to seal victory at the Classic.

“I felt good on the stage. I was quite nervous in the beginning but that settled after the first few 11s,” said reigning world number one and Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion Mike. “I’m happy to win Lancaster. It’s a huge competition and a nice mental boost ahead of The Vegas Shoot in just a few days.”

Schloesser received $15,000 in prize money from tournament organisers plus sponsor contingency.

Scoring works differently at the Classic than at World Archery events, although the events utilises the standard 40cm trispot target face and competition is held over 18 metres. For all bowstyles, the two-centimetre ring (compound 10) scores 11 points and the four-centimetre ring (recurve 10) scores 10 points. The rest of the face scores as normal.

“There is a big difference in shooting the target,” explained Mike. “Because you feel that you can’t afford any big mistakes. I think it keeps me more focused on making good shots.”

The tournament is split into three phases. The first is a 60-arrow qualification, then elimination matches cut the compound men’s field down to eight and all other divisions down to four. Finally, the bottom-ranked remaining archer shoots against the next-ranked archer, with the winner progressing to shoot against the next-ranked competitor – until two remain to shoot the final.

Former compound women’s world number one Erika Jones made her return to the line at the Classic.

Jones was last seen internationally at the 2014 Archery World Cup Final, where she finished second. She took a hiatus after announcing she was expecting a child – and it still remains to be seen whether her second-place finish at the 2017 Classic is the start of a wider return to competition.

After qualifying eighth, Erika upset favourite Madison Rutkowski to make the final-four shoot-up as the top seed – and had only one finals match to shoot, against reigning Indoor Archery World Cup Champion Sarah Sonnichsen.

The Dane was one point better over 12 arrows, beating out Jones for her first Classic win.

Olympic silver medallist Brady Ellison, who broke the world record for the World Archery 18-metre ranking round at both the first and third stages of the 2016/17 Indoor Archery World Cup, secured his first win at the Lancaster Archery Classic. He was runner-up in 2016.

“Finally got this one,” said Ellison, reported the Lancaster Archery Supply blog. “The competition here is always tough.”

Ellison beat a two-time winner of the Classic, Crispin Duenas, by three points in the recurve men’s final. Brady’s Olympic teammate Zach Garrett finished third.

Other winners at the 2017 Lancaster Classic included Mackenzie Brown in the recurve women’s competition, Duane Price in the compound men’s master’s event and, in the senior open division, Dee Wilde – the father of Logan and Reo Wilde.

Both Brown and Price won their divisions at the Classic for the second year in a row.

Event organiser Rob Kaufhold’s 12-year-old daughter Casey finished second to Brown, shooting in the senior ranks, after telling her parents it was a dream to compete against the Rio 2016 Olympian.

The Lancaster Archery Classic, organised by World Archery associate Lancaster Archery Supply, ran 27-29 January 2017 at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, PA, USA.