At the end of the first day of competition, 118 archers posted perfect 300s at the South Point.
Of these athletes, 93 of them belonged to championship classes and 25 to flighted classes, setting the stage for a heated competition weekend. Each of these archers was eligible to participate in the $10K-a-day shootoff, which took place in the early evening.
The Championship Open field saw 73 total perfect scores. A perfect score of 300 points and 30X was shot by World #10 Nicolas Girard (France), 2022 Vegas Champion Bodie Turner (Washington, USA), and 2018 Vegas Champion Chris Perkins (Canada). Perkins took his performance in stride, comparing it to another day at work. “It’s just business as usual. Shots felt good, I felt good, and I hope that continues into tomorrow.”
The Championship Open Female class also battled fierce competition, with 11 archers finishing clean on the first day. The field is led by 17-year-old Olivia Dean (New Jersey, USA) with 27X, followed by 2022 Champion Liko Arreola (Hawai’i, USA), Kaylee Geist (Colorado, USA), and 2023 Champion Tanja Gellenthien (Denmark) each with 26X.
“I’m feeling really good, I was a little bit nervous going into today” said Dean. “But that was one of the best-feeling rounds I’ve ever shot in competition, so I’m really happy with how I held everything together” She plans to celebrate by grabbing dinner with some friends and checking out the South Point’s bowling alley.
Five Championship Young Adult archers also shot 300s, led by Adam Curran (Kentucky, USA), Grady Kane (South Dakota, USA), and Zachary Neilson (New York, USA), each with 24X. We caught up with Neilson after his round, and he shared his no-nonsense game plan for the evening: “I’m gonna go eat, get a milkshake, and head to bed to get ready for tomorrow.”
Four archers in the Championship Compound Senior divisions posted 300s, led by Timothy Gillingham (Utah, USA). Shelley Saxwold (Michigan, USA) topped the Championship Compound Senior Female division with a score of 294.
Marcus D’Almeida (Brazil) and Florian Unruh (Germany) led the Championship Recurve Male division at 298 each, and Marie Horackova led the Championship Recurve Female division with a score of 294. Fong You Jhu (Taipei) sits atop the Championship Recurve Young Adults with 290, and the Championship Barebow class is led by Zackary Misinger (Iowa, USA) with a score of 278.
These archers will seek to continue their performances when competition resumes.
Perfect scores after first day of competition:
Championship Compound Open: 73
Championship Compound Female: 11
Championship Compound Young Adult: 5
Championship Compound Senior: 4
Compound Flights: 24
Bowhunter Flights: 1
Who will join the 900 Club and be one step closer to being crowned Vegas Champion? We will see at the end of the weekend. For live results, visit the Results page.
The Vegas Shoot continues with more qualification rounds, another 10K shootoff, and informational seminars and classes. The junior and collegiate awards ceremonies and Indoor World Series Finals medal matches will also take place tomorrow evening. Check the schedule here for more information, and follow @TheVegasShoot on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates.
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