Ellison defends Classic title after Lancaster shoot-up

Pictures via Dutchtarget.

Four-time Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion Brady Ellison beat Canada’s Crispin Duenas in the recurve men’s final at the Lancaster Archery Classic for the second consecutive year to successfully defend his title, and medal in his second consecutive major indoor tournament of the new year.

Ellison finished second at stage two of the Indoor Archery World Cup in Nimes, to Steve Wijler, just a week prior.

“Going from event to event is tough but it’s what I like to do. Competing is really how I put food on the table for my family, so I have to stay strong through it all,” said Ellison.

The 29-year-old world number five missed the first two Indoor Archery World Cup stages of the indoor season at the end of 2017, but has captured mid-season form fresh off the break.

Still working on his indoor gear, Ellison said he’d shoot thin arrows, rather than fat, at his next event to help decide what would take him through Vegas and the rest of the indoor season.

The Lancaster Archery Classic’s unique tournament structure attracts some of the world’s best archers and boasted an entry list numbering over 1200 in 2018.

Competitors shoot a 60-arrow qualifying round, scoring the World Archery recurve 10 as 10 points and the compound 10 as 11 points.

A head-to-head bracket then cuts the field down to the top four athletes (top eight in the men’s open – compound – division), before those remaining shoot-up to decide the podium positions. The lowest seed shoots against the next lowest seed, with the winner shooting against the next lowest seed, and so on.

Sarah Prieels won the compound women’s title at the 2018 Lancaster Archery Classic in just one match, entering the shoot-up as the top-ranked archer.

Paul Tedford, the Nimes bronze medallist, won the men’s event from the third-ranked position, beating Jacob Marlow, Chance Beaubouef and Sam Wolthuis to the top spot.

Former world-class podium finisher in the compound division Crystal Gauvin took the first medal of her young recurve career. She finished third in the women’s event, being knocked out by Casey Kaufhold, who in turn lost to Rio 2016 Olympian Mackenzie Brown in the final.

The major event indoor archery season continues with The Vegas Shoot on 9-11 February, immediately followed by the World Archery Indoor Championships in Yankton, USA on 14-19 February 2018.

The 2018 Lancaster Archery Classic ran 26-28 January in Manheim PA, USA.