Hunting News

Sixth Time’s the Charm

Sixth Time’s the Charm

By Ken Piper

Goza comes from elimination bracket to claim 2018 Top Bow title.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, and that was certainly true of the 2018 Buckmasters Top Bow Indoor World Championship archery tournament that wrapped up the Buckmasters Expo in Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday.

A completely revamped double-elimination format added even more excitement to the nation’s most unique archery competition. When the dust settled, five-time champion Joseph Goza of Henagar, Ala., added his sixth title to his long list of accomplishments.

“I got lucky,” Goza said. “When I missed that short runner, I thought it was over, but Tim missed the long runner and the red dot target, so that let me get through that round.”

Top BowThe Tim Goza was referring to was Tim Gillingham of Provo, Utah. Tim made it through the entire tournament without a loss, defeating Randy Barley of Brown Summit, N.C., to advance to the finals from the winner’s bracket.

Goza had dropped into the elimination bracket earlier and came back to defeat Barley in the elimination semi-finals to face Gillingham. He had to beat Gillingham twice to win the title.

“I guess I just wanted to shoot a little more,” Goza said with a smile. “I ended up shooting three extra rounds by dropping into the elimination bracket, and I didn’t really think I would be able to beat Tim twice, but it all just worked out.”

Top BowAnd while it was disappointing to come ever so close to winning his first Top Bow title, Gillingham was thrilled to receive a 2019 Yamaha Grizzly ATV for his second-place finish.

Asked how he felt the new format went, Top Bow Rangemaster Mike Foster said he couldn’t have been happier with the results.

“It was great!” Foster said. “The archers really liked it, and I think it’s going to bring new interest to the event. The head-to-head format put a little more pressure on each round, but it also allowed some of the new archers to stick around longer and be competitive.”

Top BowSpecial honors went to Alex Ballenger, winner of the Dan C. Bussey award and a check for $750; and Tyler Chubb, winner of the Easton Red Dot Shootoff and a check for $500.

The top six place finishers for the 2018 Top Bow Championship were:
1 – Joseph Goza, Henagar, Ala.
2 – Tim Gillingham, Provo, Utah
3 – Randy Barley, Brown Summit, N.C.
4 – Jamison Ward, Hubbardston, Mich.
5 – Joel Tate, Eden, N.C.
6 – Luke Parker, Simpson, La.

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd