Lycoming News

In a competitive display at the USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals held in Chula Vista, California, six first-year archers from Penn College secured a 16th-place finish among 23 teams. This performance provided them with crucial experience for future competitions.

The men's compound team, consisting of Noah Burke from Tionesta, Alex Edwards from Kutztown, and Jonathon Vough from Athens, faced Pikeville University in the quarterfinals and were defeated 229-220. Meanwhile, the men's fixed pins team featuring Dyson Renn from Hellam, Brandon Fisher from McClure, and Jansen Balmer from Ephrata lost to Lindsey Wilson College with a score of 217-187.

Individually in the men's fixed pins category with 61 participants, Dyson Renn qualified 11th in the ranking round with 639 points. He won his head-to-head match in the round of 16 but was narrowly defeated in the final eight due to a tiebreaker. Brandon Fisher qualified 32nd and advanced past his initial match before losing in the final 32. Jansen Balmer placed 36th and was eliminated in the round of 32.

In terms of All-America rankings combining indoor and outdoor scores, Renn achieved a rank of 12th just missing out on a top ten position by two points. Fisher ranked at number 31.

For individual performances in men's compound events among 41 competitors: Alex Edwards ranked at number 29 after qualifying with 649 points; he won his first elimination match but fell short in the next round. Noah Burke finished as qualifier number 34 while Jonathon Vough stood at number 42; both exited during their respective matches against opponents ranked higher.

Coach Dustin Bartron remarked on challenges faced during travel affecting equipment which led to difficulties over that weekend's competition. "We certainly had to overcome some hurdles getting there — (our) equipment took it tough during travel causing many issues all weekend," he stated. Despite these setbacks along with nerves manifesting into mistakes under pressure situations he acknowledged areas needing improvement moving forward into offseason preparations for upcoming fall events like '3D'. "Everyone is looking forward to the offseason," Coach Bartron added emphasizing lessons learned throughout this eventful journey towards refining skills ahead of next season's contests.