Day 1 of the 2018 Lancaster Archery Classic found Todd and Justin stepping to the shooting line at 8:00 this morning as they competed in the first round qualifier for the Bowhunter Division. There were 78 bales on one side of the venue, with two shooters assigned to each bale to shoot 60 arrows. Both guys admit that the magnitude of the event is somewhat overwhelming when you first step onto the line. With hundreds of shooters at the line sending arrows down range, you’d think you could just blend in, and the pressure would be off, right? Not a chance!
Justin shares his thoughts with P.J. Reilly of Lancaster for their live stream.
“We had no idea how nervous we’d be stepping up to the line to shoot next to strangers,” Justin said. “You feel like everyone is watching. It’s the closest thing to hunting pressure you’ll ever find.”
Shooters on the line at the 2018 LAS Classic.
Despite hundreds of competitors on the line, Todd and Justin’s focus was strictly on beating each other. Todd led the competition among the two nearly the entire time, but were tied up as they came down to the last 3 arrows. “He got me with his last arrow,” says Graf. “He came back and got me!”
Justin getting ready to shoot. Yes, it’s true, he did get a zero on the 1st shot.
Todd and Justin were competing in the Bowhunter Division, a category of the competition that restricts the use of magnification lenses in your sight and any stabilizer over 12 inches. Unlike most of the competitors in the Bowhunter Division, Todd and JZ shot pretty much the exact same setup they had been hunting with all fall.
The Barebow Division of the LAS Classic has some tough competition of its own.
“The competition here at the Lancaster Archery Classic is intense,” says Graf. “You know you’re gonna be shooting at a specific time, and all the pressure building up to that time is unbelievable. It took a long while for me to settle my nerves down. This will no doubt help you be a better shooter.”
Steve Anderson, shooting the Men’s Open Pro, is a tough competitor in the world of indoor archery.
This year’s event will host a record setting number of shooters, totaling just shy of 1500. It truly is one of the biggest and best archery events in the country.
The LAS Mobile Pro Shop is always on hand and ready to help shooters.
The guys had a chance to run into several of the top shooters in the world. It’s always fun to meet these guys, pick their brains on being a better shooter, and watch them do their thing.
Mike Schloesser, also known as, “Mr. Perfect,” won the Men’s Open Pro Division at the 2017 Lancaster Archery Classic. Can he do it again this year?
Olympic Medalist, Brady Ellison, continues to hang out at the top when it comes to the best recurve archers in the country.
The beauty of the Lancaster Archery Classic is that the Lancaster team does such an incredible job of making the event visible to the rest of the archery world via their live streaming efforts. You can literally keep track of this event all day, everyday throughout the Classic.
P.J. Reilly of Lancaster Archery conducts interviews for the LAS live coverage of the Classic.
Be sure to keep up with all the latest live videos, photos, and info from this year’s Lancaster Archery Classic via Bowhunting.com’s website, social media, as well as through the LAS live coverage at www.lancasterarchery.com.
Shoot Up Finals Schedule
