Rio archers place 3rd at indoor nationals

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - When Jonathan Clemins accepted the position of head archery coach at the University of Rio Grande, his hopes for the school's fledgling first-year program were actually higher than those of the people who hired him for the position.
     And as things turned out, Clemins was a man of his word.
     "During my first visit to campus, I met with (URG) President (Ryan) Smith. He thought having an archery team of 10 people in the first year would be incredible," Clemins recalled. "I'm sure he thought I was crazy when I told him my goal was a team of 30 and to earn a national podium finish in our first year. Well, we did it."
     The RedStorm finished third overall among the 76 competing schools at the USA Archery Indoor Nationals, which took place Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Owensboro, Ky.
     Texas A&M finished in first place, with the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) in second and Rio Grande in third.
     Rio Grande's efforts were led by sophomore Danielle Pollard (West Pittston, PA) and senior Alicia Aviles (Tamarac, FL), who finished second and third, respectively, in Women's Fixed Pins and as the runner-up in Women's Fixed Pins Team.
     Rio also received a runner-up finish from senior Matthew Russell (Loganville, GA) and freshman Colton Green (Bloomfield, OH) in Men's Compound Team. Individually, Green was third and Russell was fourth in the same event.
     Junior Braydin White (Zanesville, OH) and Pollard placed third in the Fixed Pins Mixed Team, while White also teamed with freshman Nathan Bennett (St. Albans, WV) for a sixth place performance in Men's Fixed Pins Team and was seventh individually in Men's Fixed Pins.
     Freshman Matteja Metcalf (Piedmont, S.C.) teamed with Green for a fourth place finish in Compound Mixed Team, while also taking fifth place with freshman teammate LeeAna Burley (Carlton, MN) in Women's Compound Team and finishing eighth individually in Women's Compound.
     Senior John Sarazin (Onalaska, WI) was also a part of two top finishes, placing fourth with freshman Scott Fisher (Mauk, GA) in the Barebow Men's Team category and finishing fifth in Barebow Mixed Team with sophomore Morrighain Nyer (Pottsville, PA).
     "In less than a year, we've gone from not existing, to a team with just a vision, to earning a national podium finish," Clemins told his team in a post to his Facebook account. "This is a testament of who we are. Thank you for the hard work and passion you've poured into this team. There were successes, failures and some disappointments that I still haven't fully recovered from, but one thing's for sure - I'm thankful to have all of you here. You've set a standard of excellence and this is just the beginning. There's no going back. Our best is yet to come. This achievement is yours, and you should be incredibly proud of it. I know I am."