The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Archery program competed in its first ever event this past weekend at the 3D United States Intercollegiate Archery Championships.  The Patriots competed against archers from 19 different schools including some top NCAA programs including Liberty University, Michigan State University, and Penn State University as well as another NAIA program in Bethel University.  The 3D Nationals were held at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. 

The Patriots competed in the 2 day tournament in 6 different divisions: Men's Compound, Women's Compound, Men's Recurve, Women's Recurve, Men's Bowhunter, and Women's Bowhunter.  The maximum points possible for each event was 440 points with a 220 point per round maximum. 

In the Men's Bowhunter class, the Patriots were represented well as this was the largest division at the event.  Hunter Rickard (Henderson, KY) ended the event in 12^th place as he shot a day one total of 179 and 2^nd day total of 194 to end the event with a 373 total score, just 33 points behind the 1^st place finisher.  Hunter Cantley (Henderson, KY) finished tied for 15^th place as he shot a day one 171 and day two 197 for a total of 368. 

In the Women's Bowhunter class, Nicole Nivison (Lawrenceburg, KY) earned a 7^th place finish as she shot a 1^st round 141 and a 2^nd round 174 to finish with 315 points.  Marissa Mooreman (Brandenburg, KY) finished in 9^th place as she shot back to back rounds of 153 to finish at a total of 306 points.  Brittany Mink (Somerset, KY) trailed just behind as she finished in 11^th place as she shot a 123 in round 1 and 167 in round 2 to total a 290. 

In the Men's Compound division, Perry Enlow (Henderson, KY) earned a 4^th place finish as he shot a first round 183 and second round 205 to finish with a 388, just 19 point behind first place.  Cody Kirby (London, KY) also had a great tournament as he finished in 7^th place.  Kirby shot a 1^st round 182 and 2^nd round 199 to finish with a total of 381. 

In the Women's Compound division, Hannah Blevins (Eubank, KY) had a tremendous turnaround from day one as she shot a 1^st day 145, but rebounded with a 2^nd day 186 to finish at 331 and in 6^th place.  Her performance was just 13 points away from a top 3 finish for the tournament. 

In the Men's Recurve division, Ethan Worley (London, KY) earned a 3^rd place finish with a day one total of 100 and day two total of 142 to finish the tournament at 242.  Worley began day two 32 points back of 2^nd place, but was able to come within 14 points of a runner-up finish. 

The Women's Recurve division was represented by Brittany Hampton (London, KY) and Lacey Reliford (Somerset, KY).  Hampton earned a 2^nd place finish while Reliford earned a 3^rd place finish in the event.  Hampton shot a 154 on the tournament while Reliford shot a 134 for the event. 

Overall, the Patriots earned a lot of hardware at the event as they brought home five top 3 finishes.  The team of Perry Enlow and Hannah Blevins earned a 3^rd place finish in the Mixed Compound division.  Marissa Moorman, Jamie Bell (Burnside, KY) and Nicole Nivison earned a 2^nd place finish in the Women's Bowhunter division.  In the Mixed Recurve event, Ethan Worley and Brittany Hampton earned 2^nd place honors.  Perry Enlow, Cody Kirby, and Aaron Daniels (Henderson, KY) came up with a 2^nd place finish in the Men's Compound division.  The Patriots did come home with one 3D USIAC National Championship team in the Recurve team division with Ethan Worley, Brittany Hampton, and Lacey Reliford. 

Head Coach Kris Strebeck commented, "I'm very proud of the way the team competed over the last weekend.  We fought through some adversity through day one whether it was equipment problems or first tournament jitters.  We really excelled on the 2^nd day.  We fought back and every archer improved in some facet.  I'm excited to see the way our team will build upon this first collegiate archery tournament and we will come out even better in our next competition in March."

The Patriots will not compete in another event until March 1^st-3^rd at the National Indoor Championships in Statesboro, GA at Georgia Southern University. 

For more information on the UC Archery program along with other Patriot athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com.