Tethrd Announces New CEO
Tethrd, LLC, the American manufacturer of ultralight elevated hunting gear, recently appointed Dan Chumbler as CEO.
Chumbler has a robust background working with active outdoor lifestyle brands, including Callaway Golf, Polaris and MeatEater, where, most recently, he was CEO. He brings extensive experience and strategic vision to Tethrd, and is poised to lead the company into its next phase of growth and innovation.
“I am thrilled to join Tethrd at such an exciting time in their young history,” said Chumbler. “Tethrd’s dedication to leading through innovation is in a class by itself, and I look forward to working closely with the extremely talented team to drive continued success and deliver unparalleled value to our customers.”
“We are delighted to welcome Dan Chumbler as our new CEO,” said Ernie Power, co-founder at Tethrd. “Dan’s leadership, coupled with his deep industry knowledge, will be instrumental in advancing Tethrd’s strategic objectives and fostering long-term sustainability.”
“Tethrd is about to explode,” said Greg Godfrey, co-founder at Tethrd. “With Dan’s experience, leadership and vision, Tethrd will continue to innovate the best hunting gear on the planet. Besides, Dan has been hunting from a Tethrd saddle for the last 4 years! He understands saddle hunters because he’s one of us.”
University of the Cumberlands Repeats as National Champions
The University of the Cumberlands remain the archery team to beat on the collegiate scene after retaining the USA Archery Indoor Nationals Collegiate Overall Team title.
Under University of the Cumberlands Head Coach Kris Strebeck, the Kentucky-based college last year claimed the Indoor Nationals Collegiate Overall Team title, retained the USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals, and won the Collegiate 3D Nationals for a sixth time in a row.
On this latest success, Strebeck said, “I’m very proud of the team for the hard work that they put in. Numerous collegiate athletes work hard to prepare for the indoor season and for our team to come out on top is a huge accomplishment. This was a great way to finish off the indoor season, and we are looking forward to starting the outdoor season.”
As with last year, the Patriots (172 points) finished ahead of Texas A&M University (153), with Lindsey Wilson College (99) occupying third.
USA Archery Indoor Nationals Final Recap
The USA Archery Indoor Nationals Final recently concluded at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville with a few names once again standing at the top of the podium. Reminder: This event showcases the top eight archers, regardless of age, merged from each Indoor Nationals location in these six categories: recurve men, recurve women, compound men, compound women, barebow men and barebow women.
Casey Kaufhold won the recurve women event for the fifth time in a row. Paige Pearce claimed gold in the compound women for the fifth time in six visits. Brady Ellison reclaimed the recurve men title at the end of a faultless indoor season, while there were first-time winners in Maggie Brensinger (barebow women), Parker Baker (compound men) and Zack Bisinger (barebow men).
The last person to beat Kaufhold at the USA Archery Indoor Nationals Final was Mackenzie Brown in the 2018 gold medal match. In defeating Alex Zuleta-Visser 6-2 in the 2024 edition, Kaufhold has now won five titles in a row.
“It comes down to a lot of practice,” said Kaufhold. “Practice shooting my shots, practice with handling my nerves, so it’s been a lot of years in the making to get to five in a row.”
Pearce has recently undergone surgery, but she was not about to let that impact her plans to successfully defend the title she reclaimed last year. The 28-year-old raced out of the blocks in her gold medal match with Alexis Ruiz, hitting a perfect score from the first three ends, eventually winning 146-143.
“I wanted this one, bad,” Pearce said. “I told Tate (Morgan), ‘there’s two tournaments this weekend, and I really want to win the first one, I really want to do it’, so I’m so excited.”
For 18-year-old Brensinger, hers was a first win at this event and a career high. The teenager from Pennsylvania overcame nerves to defeat 16-year-old talent Ava Jones 6-0 in the barebow women’s gold medal match. Brensinger did not drop a point on her way to gold, beating top seed Fawn Girard 6-0 in the semifinals and Francesca Benavidez by the same score in the quarterfinals.
“I shocked myself with how quickly I got into my groove,” said Brensinger. “But as soon as I got on the (finals) stage my nerves multiplied 10-fold but I was still in that groove.”
Bisinger had a rather unique approach to preparation for the Indoor Nationals Final and it seemed to do the trick as he won a pulsating back-and-forth against Nick Way 6-4. He explained, “I had about a month to prepare and was shooting matches against my phone. I’d asked Siri to pick a number, and she would beat me sometimes – in the beginning – and then this week she didn’t beat me a whole lot so I was feeling good coming in.”
For the first time in his illustrious career, Ellison completed an indoor season unbeaten. He has lost in the final the previous two years, to Trenton Cowles in 2022 and Jack Williams in 2023. He avenged last year’s loss with a 7-3 win over Williams, with confirmation of his victory triggering a punch in the air in celebration.
“I shoot indoor so well,” began Ellison. “And then for whatever reason I’ve come here and just shot some really horrible finals the last couple of years. I’ve been shooting great on the final stage all year. I’m super happy with the win and I’ve got a lot of confidence so I’m pretty excited to see what this is going to be outside.”
Parker Baker needed a one-arrow shootoff win to overcome former world No. 1 Dave Cousins in the quarterfinals of the compound men. He followed that with a perfect 150 in the semifinals to see off second seed Caleb Quiocho, before surviving a late surge from eighth-seeded Jerimiah Foster 147-144.
The barebow men’s champion Baker said, “I really tried not to worry about what was happening out there. I knew it was a huge stage, lots of people watching, but I tried to not think about any of it and just go out to shoot my bow, that’s all I want to do.”
With generous support from Black Eagle Arrows, Conquest Archery and Darton Archery (compound division), Lancaster Archery Supply (barebow division) and T.R.U. Ball/AXCEL(recurve division), the total prize purse for this event was more than $70,000, with payouts to all places.
S3DA Hosts 9th Annual Eastern Indoor National Championship
The 9th annual Eastern S3DA Indoor National Championship was held recently at the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. Nearly 1,000 youth archers from 126 teams across 17 states met at the convention center all vying for their shot at being named the national champion in their respective division and class.
The competition was tight, with 156 archers shooting one clean round (150), and 76 of those archers shooting a clean (300). Thomas Quinlan from MSU Demmer Center Spartans in Michigan S3DA shot in the Young Adult Male Open Class and completed the event with a clean sweep of both rounds shooting a 300 with a 60 X count.
Central Kentucky Nock Busters Coach Mike Esch said, “It is amazing to see the growth in the number of archers each year. Being a range official, I get to see all of the emotions that these kids go through from their first arrow to their last. Seeing all the smiles and laughter and watching these kids encourage each other makes me really proud to be a part of this organization. Sometimes you can see an archer hit a four or blank a target and they will instantly get upset with themselves. Then, you will see other archers talking and consoling them, telling them to not think so much about their score, but just have fun. You truly don’t get to see the level of sportsmanship displayed in other sports like you do in archery. We teach our kids that winning is great, but it’s not everything, and the sport of archery is more than just hitting the bullseye. We want these kids to not only learn how to balance and focus, but we want them to hit the mark in life, by teaching them valuable life skills that extend far beyond the target.”
Several collegiate archery program coaches attended the event to recruit and speak with archers. Young adults who podiumed were presented with thousands of dollars in scholarship opportunities from various colleges and universities. Vendors attending the event and marketing to the large crowds of archers and spectators included Lancaster Archery Supply, Bohning, and GAS Bowstrings (all National S3DA sponsors), as well as AEP (Arrow Engineering Products), B3 Archery, Clear Targets, and Heavner’s Trainer X.
Kinsey's Announces Dealer's Choice Award Winners at KDS24
Kinsey's, a leading distributor of archery and firearms products, unveiled its second year of Dealer's Choice Award winners at KDS24. Kinsey’s Dealer Show was held from February 22nd-24th, 2024, at its new KDS venue, the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This award recognizes the best-in-class vendors across these seven categories: firearms, ammo, optics, archery, hunting accessories, archery accessories, and innovator. Kinsey's dealers voted for their top picks based on quality, innovation, ease of doing business, and margin consideration.
“It was a pleasure to be able to present this year’s Dealer Choice Awards to a fine set of deserving vendors,” said Alex Cameron, director of purchasing at Kinsey's. “These awards allow us the ability to give thanks to those vendors who continue to provide outstanding products and service as recognized by our dealer base through their independent votes. On behalf of our dealers and everyone at Kinsey’s, I extend gratitude and congratulations to the winners and nominees.”
The category winners of the inaugural Dealer's Choice Awards are as follows:
- Firearms: Savage Arms
- Ammo: Hornady
- Optics: Leupold
- Archery: TenPoint Crossbows
- Hunting Accessory: GSM Outdoors
- Archery Accessory: FeraDyne Outdoors
- Innovator: Hornady
The winners were announced February 23, during the Dealer Appreciation night. Each vendor received a trophy and recognition from their peers. All winners expressed their appreciation for receiving an award, including Hornady Manufacturing, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.
“We are truly honored to receive two Dealer’s Choice Awards,” said Jason Hornady of Hornady Manufacturing. “We’re grateful for the partnership with Kinsey’s and appreciate all the support from their customer base.”
Kinsey's Dealer Show is an annual event that brings together dealers, vendors, and industry experts to showcase the latest products, trends, and innovations in the archery, firearms, and outdoor industry. The event features margin maximizing events, hands-on product demonstrations, and networking opportunities for dealers and vendors.
