West Regionals Outdoor Collegiate Championship

Fueled by our success during indoor season, Trojan Archery ran headfirst into the outdoor season; for many of our archers, this would be their first time shooting past 18 meters. This year, Trojan Archery brought more archers to West Regionals than ever before – supporting a 16 person team full of Olympic Recurve and Barebow archers.

Transitioning to outdoor season is not an easy process. We are so proud of the countless hours that each archer dedicated to making the jump from indoor to outdoor. Between going up in draw weight, breaking arrows for the first time, and shooting farther than ever before, this transition often scares away new archers. But as Trojans, we always Fight On, so it was unsurprising that a record number of Trojan Archery members stepped up to the shooting line and shot for gold.

Eager to put this training to the test, our archers travelled down to the Easton Archery Center of Excellence in Chula Vista, CA to attend West Regionals. West Regionals Outdoor Collegiate Championship, WROCC, brings together more than 15 collegiate teams from the region, many with national titles under their belts. The competition combines individual, team, and mixed team (top male and female) rounds, challenging teams to shoot formats that they never have before. Together, we dealt with strong winds, pressure from archers of other universities, and relentless sun. And despite all the stress, Trojan Archery came out victorious. In addition to setting many personal records, many of our team members brought home medals, and we couldn’t be more excited to announce that a few of our archers even made the All-West Collegiate Team.

Trojan Archery fought on during the individual qualification and elimination rounds, with Aadi Ghildiyal (Olympic Recurve) and Mac Whitaker (Barebow) placing within the top eight of their divisions. During the team rounds, our women’s Barebow (Nicole Tubman, Allison Ou, and Sarah Riaz) and Olympic Recurve (Aadi Ghildiyal, Michelle DeMers, Katherine Morrison) teams brought home gold, as did our Olympic Recurve Mixed Team (Aadi Ghildiyal and Dan Kwasniewski) Additionally, Aadi and Dan made the Olympic Recurve All West Team and look to make the All American Team at NOCC. We are encouraged by our success in these categories and look forward to the team’s expansion into the compound and bowhunter divisions next fall; we anticipate that the momentum from this season will help us take home a team trophy at next year’s collegiate championships.

For many of our archers, West Regionals marks the end of outdoor season. A few of our archers – Dan Kwasniewski, Aadi Ghildiyal, Michelle DeMers, and Elizabeth Loxterkamp – will be attending National Outdoor Collegiate Championships in Ohio this May and we wish them the best of luck. To the rest of our archers, we cannot express how grateful we are for the work that each member put into this sport and devoted to the team this year. Shoot On!