Penn College freshman Casey Keiter has achieved All-American status at the USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals held in Lansing, Michigan. Keiter is the 44th Wildcat to earn this honor.
Keiter’s recognition comes from his combined top 10 indoor and outdoor national scores in the men’s fixed pins discipline, totaling 19.075 points.
In team events, the fixed pins team consisting of Keiter, Josiah Hinojos, and Wyatt Steigerwalt qualified sixth and reached the quarterfinals. The men’s compound team of Eli Bartron, Emery Gunsallus, and Brady Buriak also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Individually in men’s fixed pins, Keiter was eliminated in the round of 16 after qualifying 14th. Hinojos qualified 21st and lost in the quarterfinals, while Steigerwalt was ousted in the round of 32 after qualifying 34th. Other competitors included Ben Malehorn (43rd), Devin Albright (45th), Travis Lilly (46th), Anthony Olenchak (49th), and Wyatt Kennedy (64th).
In men’s compound archery, Bartron reached the quarterfinals after qualifying 19th. Gunsallus made it to the round of 16 with a qualification rank of 32nd. Buriak reached the quarterfinals from a starting position of 35th, while Colby Dell progressed to the round of 16 after qualifying 44th.
Liz Gruodis represented Penn College in women’s barebow, reaching the round of 16 after qualifying in 33rd place.
Coach Dustin Bartron expressed satisfaction with this year’s results: “It is great to have an all-American and two Academic All-Americans (Keiter and Hinojos) this year.” He added optimism for next season: “With all archers returning, we are looking forward to having a strong foundation to build from.”
Bartron noted that many losses were decided by narrow margins: “Many of this weekend’s losses came down to being decided by one bad arrow shot during the match.” He remains hopeful for future competitions given “the strength and experience this group gained this season.”
