Trelaina National Champ Again
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Rob Renaud
August 12, 2005
Five members of the
Nevada County Gold Junior Olympic Archery Development team recently returned
from
Borges, shooting in
the Cadet Female Recurve division, set a national record at 50 meters on the
first day of the four-day meet on her way to a 49-point win.
"It's just
amazing, I can't even describe it," Borges said of her second national
title in as many events. She also won the JOAD Nationals in
The junior and cadet
rounds at the National Target Championships consisted of two FITA
(International Federation of Target Archery) rounds. A FITA round is 36 arrows
at each of four distances, 30, 40, 50, and 60 meters. The best possible score
at each distance is 360 points.
Borges' new record at 50
meters is 327 points. She also shot 309 at 60m, 312 at 40m and 324 at 30m in
her first FITA round to take a lead after two days. On the third day, Borges
faltered a bit, shooting 282 at 60m and 296 at 50m, cutting her lead to a mere
20 points.
"Sometimes I lose
my focus and start to think about things too much," she said. "It's
hard to be in first, because everybody's talking about you, trying to beat
you."
A chat with Charlie
Washburn, team coach and mentor, was all Borges needed to calm her nerves.
"He reminds me of
what I need to do," she said.
"I just asked her
if she was ready to go out there and do what she knows how to do," said
Washburn. "So much of archery at this level is mental."
Borges responded with
a strong final day, shooting 300 at 40m and 321 at 30m.
"The last three
arrows were the worst," Borges said. "I knew that I had already won
and that I didn't need them. I was just trying not to miss."
Unfortunately, two national
titles in one year - incredible as it may seem - was not enough to earn Borges
a spot an the Junior USAT team for 2006. Based on the
scoring system used by the United States Archery Team, Melissa Ash of
Sara Holstein, also
from California, shot a personal-best and meet-high 159 to knock Borges and her
154 out in the first round of the head-to-head competition. Ash managed to make
the quarterfinals, enough to overcome her two second-place finishes to Borges
in the last two national meets.
"It doesn't seem
fair," said Washburn," She's accomplished so much. This has been an
incredible year for her."
"Yeah, I'm a
little disappointed, but I'm not going to give up," ' Borges added.
This will be Borges
final year shooting in the cadet division as she will move up to the junior
category next year. That means she will have a better chance at earning a spot
on the USAT team, which has five openings for juniors while only one for cadet
archers.
Goepel also competed
in the Cadet Female Recurve class and finished in 11th place.
"I think you're
going to see a lot from Gemma," said Washburn. "She's just about
where Trelaina was last year."
Ross, a
Cadet Male Compound competitor, finished in seventh place while Harris claimed
18th position in the Cadet Male Recurve class.
Cody Borges, younger
brother of Trelaina, earned himself a podium finish, with a third -place finish
in the Bowman Male Recurve category.
The Nevada County Gold
will travel to Toulare in early September for the
Grapestakes Tournament before shooting at the Pacific Coast Championships Sept.
16-18.
To contact
sportswriter Rob Renaud, e-mail robr@theunion.com or call 477-4240.