WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - University of Pikeville archery finished second at the Mid-South Conference Outdoor Championships this past weekend. Mid-South officials also released the all-conference, academic all-conference, and the Champions of Character Teams. The Bears also competed in the USA Archery Regionals, earning plenty of medals and have many nominations for the All-Region Team.
On the men's side of the ranking round, Jack Dinapoli took fourth in the men's recurve. In the fixed pins, Tate Jobe took fifth after shooting a 659. In the men's team rounds, John Shelby Stephens, Kyle Sturgill, and Heath Dingus captured the gold medal in the barebow. Tate Jobe, Nate Harper, and Caden Jones also earned a gold medal after shooting a 229 in the fixed pins. Jack Dinapoli, Kole Whalen, and Ashton Adams took third in the recurve. In the compound, Lucas Ellis, John Rose, and Logan Cunningham came in fourth place.
On the women's side of the ranking round, Olivia Hale took silver in the women's recurve and Bella Barrett finished fifth. Alyssa Tenney came in third in the compound and Kennadi Mayer took third in the barebow. Emma Willis earned a bronze medal in the fixed pins to round out the ranking round.
Olivia Hale, Bella Barrett, and Anna Howard opened the women's team rounds with a silver medal in the recurve. Also taking silver were the team of Emma Willis, Hunter Tunstill, and Cassie Haldeman in the fixed pins. Abby Ray, Lydia Ratz, and Alyssa Tenney took third in the compound. Allison Collinsworth, Emma Terry, and Kennadi Mayer rounded out the team rounds with a bronze in the barebow.
The mixed team rounds saw the Bears collect two gold medals, one silver, and one fourth place finish. John Dinapoli and Olivia Hale earned gold in the recurve. Also taking gold were John Shelby Stephens and Kennadi Mayer in the barebow. Tate Jobe and Emma Willis took silver in the fixed pins and Alyssa Tenney and John Rose finished fourth in the compound.
In the elimination round, Kennadi Mayer finished first in the barebow. In the recurve, Olivia Hale took silver and Bella Barrett finished fourth. In the men's fixed pins, Tate Jobe shot a 134 and took silver.
In total, the Bears earned six gold medals, four silver medals, four bronze medals, and had three fourth place finishes and amassed 131 total team points. Four members of the UPIKE archery team earned MSC All-Conference honors. Senior Bella Barrett and junior Olivia Hale earned first team honors in the women's recurve, sophomore Kennadi Mayer earned first team honors and was named Mid-South Conference Shooter of the Year in the women's barebow, and senior Allison Collinsworth earned second team honors in the women's barebow.
The MSC also released their academic all-conference honorees. To be nominated for this honor, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale and must be in their third term or fourth quarter. UPIKE archery's 2024-25 MSC Academic All-Conference honorees are Lydia Ratz, Abby Ray, Alyssa Tenney, Nate Harper, Caden Jones, Emma Willis, Jack Dinapoli, Kole Whalen, Bella Barrett, Olivia Hale, Anna Howard, Heath Dingus, Allison Collinsworth, Kennadi Mayer, John Shelby Stephens, and Kyle Sturgill.
The Mid-South Conference recognizes the Champions of Character Team. Student-athletes who earn this honor are nominated by their coaches for their leadership on campus and in the community while best exhibiting the five core values embraced by the NAIA. Representing the University of Pikeville on the 2024-25 MSC Archery Champions of Character Team are Logan Cunningham and Alyssa Sturgill.
In the USA Archery Regionals, the men's side took silver in the fixed pins and bronze in the recurve and the barebow. On the women's side, the Bears took silver in the fixed pins and in the recurve, then took bronze in the compound and the barebow. In the mixed team rounds, UPIKE took gold in the recurve and barebow, and then earned a silver in the fixed pins. Individually, Kennadi Mayer won gold in the barebow, Olivia Hale won silver in the recurve, and Tate Jobe took silver in the fixed pins.
Representing UPIKE in the USA Archery All-Region Team were Jack DiNapoli, Olivia Hale, Anna Howard, Alyssa Tenney, John Shelby Stephens, Kennadi Mayer, Allison Collinsworth, and Tate Jobe.
The archery Bears will be back in action May 15th-18th for the USA Archery Outdoor Nationals.
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