Ellison, Kaufhold retain Vegas titles as five women set historic compound shootdown
Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold retained their titles at the Vegas Shoot on Sunday, finishing top of the recurve standings after three days of competition.
Ellison totalled 886 to secure his 12th Vegas Shoot victory, edging a tightly contested field by a single point, with two other archers finishing on 885.
In the women’s competition, world number three Kaufhold shot 884 to retain her title by four points. Her final-day score of 295 was matched by USA teammate Catalina Gnoriega, but it was not enough to close the gap.
In the compound women’s division, five athletes shot a perfect 900 across three days for the first time in the history of the event, setting up a historic shootdown.
Ella Gibson, Morgan Rives, Alexis Ruiz, Taylor Miller and reigning Indoor Archery World Series winner Tanja Gellenthien all advanced to the final shootdown, where they will compete for the USD 50,000 top prize.
In the compound men’s competition, 32 athletes – including defending champion Bodie Turner and former winners Mike Schloesser and Kyle Douglas – also reached the maximum 900.
They will be joined in the shootdown by Kushal Dalal, a multiple-time Asia Cup winner competing in Las Vegas for the first time, who secured the ‘Lucky Dog’ spot after winning the playoff between all archers who finished on 899.
“It was a special moment – my heart was pumping very hard but I still managed to shoot in the centre,” said Dalal after earning his place in the shootdown. “It’s a long trip from India to the USA, and I knew I had to shoot 900 to make the final. Now I’m just going with the flow.”
The Vegas Shoot is the seventh and final stage of the Indoor Archery World Series. Points towards the elite and open rankings have been accumulated since October across events in Lausanne, Luxembourg, Taipei, Rio, Nimes, Merida and Vegas to determine the series champions.
Live broadcast from the Vegas shootdowns will be available on archery+.
Winners: 2026 Vegas Shoot
- Recurve men: Brady Ellison, USA – 886
- Recurve women: Casey Kaufhold, USA – 884
