Taking aim at national honors
Nevada County Gold continues to hit mark
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by Rob Renaud
You may not know it, but
there just might be some future Olympians in our midst.
Archers
All three recently medaled at the National Archery
Association California State Outdoor Championships in
Borges, a holder of 12 state records, brought home a gold in the Women's Cadet Olympic Recurve. Ross earned a
bronze medal in the Men's Cadet Compound Division ,
while Harris scored a bronze in the Men's Junior Olympic Recurve division.
Ross and Borges are currently competing at the 2005 Junior
Olympic Archery Development Nationals at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex
in
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Competing at such a high
level is nothing new for these archers, who have been making names for
themselves for the past two years in state and national competitions.
Borges, 15, began shooting archery in January of 2003 at
Though not an instant success, she knew that first day that
she was hooked.
"I just knew that this was something I wanted to
do," she said. "But I never dreamed of this. I never thought that I
could get to this level. I just keep going beyond what I thought I could do,
trying to get better."
In the last year, she has won her division in seven major
competitions, set 11 records, and is ranked first in her division in the state.
She has won the 2004 State
Target Championship, the 2004 Pacific Coast Championship, the 2005 JOAD State
Indoor Championship, the 2005 NAA State Indoor Championship, the 2005 State
Indoor, the 2005 National JOAD Indoor Championship and she took second at the
2005 National NAA Indoor Championship.
Borges also recently took third in the Cal Cup in which she
shot against some of the best adult competition in the state in an Olympic
style elimination tournament.
"It was a whole different kind of pressure,"
Borges said. "I got a lot of experience from this."
Ross, 15, is also ranked number one in the state in his
division and currently holds the top
Having started archery at 5 years old in
"I was never serious until I joined FITA (Federation of
International Target Archery)," he said. "That gave me goals and a
positive outlook that I needed."
Alden Harris, 17, also
started his archery career at the Nevada County Sportsman's Club under Claudia
Stevenson about two and a half years ago.
Currently ranked second in
"I never thought that I could reach this level,"
he said.
Harris, of
"I'm going to be on the 2008 Olympic team,"he said.
"I said that if they wanted to compete at this level, I
would do everything within my power to help them," Washburn said.
"It takes a lot of work and commitment. These kids have
that desire and determination to do what it takes to win at that level. These
young men and women continue to impress and amaze me with their determination
and skill. Five of the eight member team are currently
ranked in the top three in each of their respective categories in the
The 2005 JOAD Nationals are June 23-26 in
To contact sportswriter Rob Renaud,
e-mail robr@theunion.com or call
477-4240.