±«Óătvarchers make impressive strides while Veidmark becomes first to capture back-to-back titles
Mississippi College archery team sharpshooter Abigail Veidmark set an ±«Óătvrecord at the recent Vegas Shoot, billed as the largest and most prestigious indoor archery tournament in the world.
Veidmark outpaced everyone in the Women’s Collegiate Bowhunter Division to win the classification. It was the second year in a row Veidmark accomplished the feat; it was also the first time an ±«Óătvarcher had scored consecutive wins at a major tournament.
“They changed venues (at the Las Vegas, Nevada tournament) and we chose not to go as a team, but I sent Abigail because I wanted to give her the chance for a repeat,” an elated ±«Óătvarchery coach John McDonald said. “And she pulled it off.”
MC’s archery team racked up impressive results during its 2024-25 campaign. For example, a majority of the archers tallied a Top 10 finish in the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Classic Jan. 24-26.
In the Classic, Veidmark tallied an impressive second-place finish while Gracen Lancaster placed eighth and Ann Mabry Dean landed in the 11th position.
“These three performed extremely well for such a large tournament,” McDonald said.
On the men’s side, Isakiel Griffin turned in a personal-best performance with a score of 587 in the Classic.
Competing in the Collegiate Tournament the following day, Veidmark tied for first place in the women’s collegiate bowhunter division but lost in the tiebreaker. Shooting from 20 yards, she scored an x or 10 on 50 of 60 targets. The x is inside a 10-ring roughly the size of a silver dollar.
While Veidmark settled for second, Lancaster finished seventh and Dean finished 11th. Isabella Hedgepeth finished in the upper half of her division.
In the collegiate men’s bowhunter competition, Griffin placed seventh, Jack Thomas Spears placed ninth and Jude Counce landed tenth.
In Fall 2024, ±«Óătvhosted the USA Archery South-Central 3-D Archery Regional Tournament Sept. 13-14, 2024, at Traceway Park. About 70 archers from five colleges participated in the tournament, with ±«Óătvplacing first in three of the six divisions.
Parker Mulhollen finished first in the Men’s Barebow Division; Spears finished atop the Men’s Bowhunter Division; and Veidmark took first place in the Women’s Bowhunter Division.
Other notable finishes by ±«Óătvarchers in the home tournament included Christina Glover, fifth, women’s barebow; Hedgepeth, 10th, women’s barebow; Mason Green, sixth, men’s barebow; Lancaster, third, women’s bowhunter; Dean, 12th, women’s bowhunter; Griffin, fourth, men’s bowhunter; Counce, seventh, men’s bowhunter; Boyd, 11th, men’s bowhunter; Amy Snyder, seventh, women’s compound; Spears, eighth, men’s compound.
In team competition, Spears, Counce and Griffin took first place in the Men’s Bowhunter Division, while Veidmark, Lancaster and Dean finished second in the Women’s Bowhunter Division. In mixed-team competition, Glover and Mulhollen on barebow and Veidmark and Spears on bowhunter captured first-place honors, while Snyder and Ben Spears finished second in compound.
Other Fall 2024 highlights included an October trip to Foley, Alabama, to compete in the USA Archery Collegiate 3-D Nationals. Jack Thomas Spears finished a career-high 13th in the national event, while Lancaster ranked 20th and Maggie Thompson shot a personal-best 187 in the second round. MC’s archers also found success during the non-collegiate USA state tournament at William Carey University in September. Top 10 finishers in their respective divisions were ±«Óătvarchers Lancaster (second place), Griffin (third place), Ben Spears (fifth place) and Austin Peyton (10th place).
The team is preparing to compete in the Outdoor Regionals at the end of the spring semester.
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