History was made at the 2022 Lancaster Archery Classic in Manheim, Pa., Jan 27-30. Nearly 2,000 archers competed over four days at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex, seeking more than $200,000 in prize money, plus tens of thousands more in contingencies.
The biggest story to come out of the Classic was Bodie Turner, 14, becoming the third archer in Lancaster Archery Classic history to shoot a perfect 660-qualification score. He joins veteran pros Reo Wilde and Braden Gellenthien as the only archers to achieve this feat. After elimination and finals matches, Turner finished third in the Men’s Open Pro Division.
Crowned at the Classic was the first-ever champion in the Women’s Masters Open. That division made its debut in 2022.
Catherine Papagni took the title and became the first archer to hit the new 12-ring, which was introduced at this year’s Classic. Only available in the finals shoot-up matches, a 12-point ring was added to the targets to introduce new elements of strategy and excitement.
The 12-ring was positioned directly below the center 11-ring on the line separating the seven-point ring from the eight-point ring. So, missing the 12 came with a big penalty.
Archers had to call the 12-ring for it to be in play. They did so by stepping on a button on their shooting platforms that illuminated a red light. They could call for the 12-ring only once per end- three-shot period.
Needing a 12 on her final arrow to send the final match to a sudden-death shoot-off, Papagni called the 12 and drilled it to thunderous cheers. Had she not hit the 12, Papagni would have finished second to Lori Burnett. Instead, two shoot-off arrows later, Papagni took the title. Burnett was second and Denise Shirk finished third.
Another moment at the Classic came during the Youth Male Recurve Division. Aarya Arun fought his way to the top to win his division at only 11 years old, defeating second-place finished ChanYoung Mun. Jin Kang took third. The Youth Male Division consists of archers aged 11-17.
Keeping with the youth movement, 16-year-old Erin Heyob won the title in Women’s Barebow, which is always a crowd favorite at the Classic.
It was a packed house as Heyob shot 11-8-11 on her final three arrows to take down legendary archer Fawn Girard. Proving the amazing support of the Barebow division, Girard ran over to give Heyob a hug for her incredible accomplishment. Kristina Pruccoli finished third.
Right after Women’s Barebow, Men’s Barebow kept the crowd rocking. Especially when sixth-seed Paul Donahoo took the stage at 79 years old. He is now the oldest archer to compete in the Classic finals. Donahoo proved archery is a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone! In the end, the mighty John Demmer III took down Dewayne Martin to win his third championship at the Classic. Lee Wilkins finished third.
For the Senior Open Division, Ken Shannon was awarded first place and Champion, Jack Elliot came in second, followed by John Freeman in third.
In Women’s Open Makenzie Weatherspoon took first place, Kseniia Shkliar finished second and Maris Tetsmann came in third.
Tony Harris was this year’s champion in the Master’s Open Division, followed by Kirby Gillespie in second and Ken Brunko in third.
In the Youth Female Recurve Division, Alyssa Artz took her third Championship title, while Samantha Ensign placed second and Whitney Williams finished third.
In Youth Female Open, Claire Garrison was crowned Champion, followed by Kaitlyn Smalley in second and Leann Drake in third.
Tim Gillingham won the Master’s Open Pro title, Randy Morocco placed second and Mike Jablonski came in third.
In the Bowhunter Division, Andy Hunnell took first place, Dakota Smith secured second and Luke Long came in third.
In Women’s Olympic Recurve, Gaby Schloesser took first place, Casey Kaufhold took second and Savannah Vanderwier started her Olympic recurve career earning third.
Jack Williams took first place in Olympic Recurve followed by Michele Frangilli in second and Nicholas D’Amour in third.
In the Youth Male Open Division, the first seed, Nathan Zimmerman, proved why he was the number-one seed by claiming the Classic Champion title. Sawyer Sullivan earned second, followed by Dewey Hathaway in third.
Benjamin Schaffhauser placed first in the Men’s Open Division, followed by Drew Hortman in second and Austin Taylor in third.
Jyothi Surekha Vennam earned first place in the Women’s Open Pro Division, while Paige Pearce took second and Ella Gibson placed second.
To finish out the evening in Open Pro, Nick Kappers fought from sixth place to earn his Lancaster Classic Champion title. Second place was secured by Kyle Douglas, while Turner took third.
If you would like to see how all of these matches played out or would like to watch our feed from qualifications on Thursday and Friday, you will be able to watch those on our YouTube Channel. We would like to thank everyone for coming out to the 2022 Lancaster Archery Classic and would like to say that as excited as we were for this year’s Classic, we cannot wait for 2023!