HARRISBURG -- After a disappointing start to the 2017 collegiate archery season in early October, the Southeastern Illinois College Archery Falcons finished the month with a vengeance by capturing four gold medals at the USA Archery Collegiate 3-D Championships in Foley, Ala.
Division I varsity teams from Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Michigan and West Virginia competed over two days in bow hunter, compound, Olympic recurve and bare bow competitions. In addition to its four gold medals, Southeastern won a silver and a bronze.
Eli Bond from Thompsonville, won gold medalist honors in the men's bow hunter division, ranking him No. 1 in the nation in USA Archery 3-D collegiate competition. Stephani Poe from Arthur, Illinois captured the gold medal in the women's compound division, securing her No. 1 national collegiate ranking.
Rounding out SIC's gold medal count were the men's bow hunter team of Bond, Hunter Chowning from Covington, Ind., and Matt Horton from Thompsonville and the men's compound team of John and Tristan Whalen from Boonville, Ind. and Poe, who qualified to shoot on the men's team under USA Archery rules.
The mixed compound team of John Whalen and Poe won a silver medal, while Whalen finished in third place in men's compound for the bronze.
SIC head archery coach Alli Armstrong was elated.
"I think the US Collegiate Archery national tournament earlier in the month was a wake-up call for our shooters," Armstrong said. "We knew we could compete at a high level against the best college teams in the country, and we did just that at the USA Archery Nationals in Foley."
Especially satisfying to the Falcons, and in particular to Bond, was that he defeated the No. 1 ranked USCA bow hunter in the nation, James Childress from Hocking College. Bond finished with a score of 410 to Childress' 390.
"We are so proud of the amazing accomplishments of our championship archery team," SIC President Jonah Rice said. "They are a legacy in the making."
Armstrong noted that Norris City's Bradford Sauls, who won the gold medal in men's compound for Mississippi College, is a past member of Southeastern's archery team, as is Emmanuel's gold medalist in women's bow hunter, Katie Davies from Marion, Ken.
For more information on SIC's Archery program and the new Indoor Archery Center, which is now open to the public, please visit www.sic.edu/archery.
