Team 60X is Setting the Bar High
Posted by Todd Lambright on Mar 5th 2019
Here at 60x Custom Strings we have had a great start to the 2019 tournament season.60x has shooters in all walks of archery that choose us to build their strings.Here are some impressive archers and their achievements so far for 2019.
The first ASA (Archery Shooters Association) 3d tournament of the year was in Foley Alabama February 21st -24th and hosted close to 2,000 competitors.The most recognized class is the Men’s Open Pro, and that is where Kenny Lantz put our strings to work.He shot an impressive 424 through the first 2 rounds of competition which seeded him 1st going into the pro shoot off.During the shoot off Kenny was able to maintain his 1st seed against the best 3d archers in the game.When the dust settled Kenny was able secure his victory by 3 points making him the ASA Foley Men’s Open Pro Champion.Kenny has been using 60x Custom Strings for several years and we’re proud to be a part of his first ASA pro win.
The ASA has close to 50 different classes to which archers can choose from based on the equipment they shoot and skill level.Senior Pro is an extremely tough class filled with very experienced archers who mostly came from the open pro class.Once an archer turns 50 they can step up and one of the best last year was 60x Shooter Tony Tazza.The beginning of this year was no different as Tony was able to secure a solid 2nd place finish after the Sr Pro Shoot-off.
One of the larger classes is Known 50, a 50 yard max range where rangefinders are permitted and in turn makes it a very competitive class.This is where long time 60x shooter Chad Hilburn managed the course well both days and come out on top.Chad shot an impressive 434 to win by 2.
Women also have a top known distance class (Women’s K45).This is an extremely completive class for women shooting known distance and it shows in the scores.Jillian Ballengee was able to take 2nd place with a solid score of 414 through the 2 days of competition.
In the Barebow Recurve class there is no men’s and women’s separation they compete against each other.In this class we had 60x shooter Kim Timberlake take the top spot by 3 points.
Another 3d organization is the IBO (International Bowhunter Organization).They held their 2019 Indoor World Championship February 15th – 17th in Sunbury Ohio.It was there, that long time 60x Shooter Dale Jones was able to win the Semi Pro class by a monstrous 9 points.Dale shot a 419 to secure his title as 2019 Semi Pro Indoor World Champion.
When it comes to Indoor archery, the two major tournaments in the USA so far have been the 2019 Lancaster Classic and the 2019 Vegas Shoot.The Lancaster Classic has a shooting format of its own and the largest attendance/payout of any tournament not put on by a shooting organization.In the Men’s Pro class we had 60x Shooter Brian Meese doing work.Brian was able to qualify well but where he really shined was in the elimination rounds.Anyone who makes it to the elimination rounds has a chance to win, and all of them are capable.Through 3 head to head matches against the best guys in the business he was able to come out on top at the end of each match.The toughest one was against the number 1 qualifying archer who shot a perfect 660 the previous day.In the end Brian took 6th place overall which is a big accomplishment against that level of competition.
The Vegas shoot is the Largest indoor archery tournament in the world and the most prestigious.In the Championship Compound (Pro Class) are the best target shooters from around the world.Here there are 3 days of competition in which these archer’s can not miss a single point.The goal is to shoot a coveted 900 by the end of day 3.All of the 900 shooters and 1 lucky dog shooter go into a massive shoot off in front of thousands of people in the arena of Southpoint Resort.We had two 60x Shooter’s accomplish this goal that most archer’s only dream of.Rich Jackson and Anthony Ferraro are the two gentlemen who made this happen.They are both from Pennsylvania, and actually shoot together often, so it was exciting to see them in the spotlight at the same time.In the end Rich ended up 9th and Anthony 20th, both now part of the 900 Club.
We also had an outstanding performance in the Vegas Shoot’s Recurve Flights class by Glen Thomas.Finishing in the 1st flight is an accomplishment, but to finish 2nd is some very strong shooting on a stage that big.Glen also just shot the US Indoor Nationals where he was able to shoot an incredible 300 half.That means he didn’t miss a single ten ring for 30 shots from 20 yards with a recurve.
We just wanted to say thanks’ and shine a spotlight on some of our shooter’s who have started of the 2019 tournament season in a big way!