Trenton Cowles ‘24 could make the U.S. Olympic Archery team
Aggies compete in Gator Cup as final stage of 2024 Olympic Games U.S. Team Trials
With arrows nocked and bowstring taut, multiple Aggies stared down the opportunity of a lifetime. Vying for a spot on the Olympic team, multiple Aggies from the Texas A&M Archery Club competed on May 13-14 at Newberry, Florida’s Gator Cup, including Trenton Cowles ‘24, Riley Marx ‘24, Venugopal Kunnavakkam ‘25, and Alex Gilliam ‘23. After intense competition, one archer’s aim was particularly true.
Cowles better start looking for flights to Paris.
Cowles ranked second overall in Recurve Men with a total score of 155. His entrance into the U.S. Olympic team makes him one of only three men this year to call himself an archer for Team USA.
“The experience has been one of the greatest in my life,” Cowles said. “I am competing at the highest level in sport while being a full-time student at A&M.”
Being in Aggieland, Cowles is surrounded by greatness, but none embody this better than the TAMU Target Archers, who are decorated with more than 20 national championships since 1996.
“It means that anyone shooting in the A&M club has the opportunity to shoot with the best and even become the best,” he said. “Helping set the standard for collegiate athletes and showing that it is possible means everything to me.”
Fighting elimination at every step, the archers faced 72 arrow ranking rounds, round robin matches, and schedule changes amid inclement weather. Each archer’s determination through it all is the pride of Rec Sports Sport Clubs, and Cowles aims for greatness as the Olympic Games Paris 2024 approach.
“I have been dreaming of this moment for the last 14 years,” Cowles said. “The team helps push me to be my best and that’s what it’s going to take to win Olympic gold.”
Update (7/8/2024): The US Men’s team did not secure a full team quota and Cowles will serve as an alternate from back home, according to a recent Instagram Post. Rec Sports is proud of his and the entire Archery club’s recent successes, and can’t wait to see where they go in future years.
WRITTEN BY: CLAIRE FRAZIER ’27
