Bryan Kirschner

Bryan Kirschner

Chemical engineering

Revelle College

Senior Nickname: The Competition Kruscher

2016-2017 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Bryan first joined Sun God Archery in the spring of 2016 as a casual hobby and an activity besides academics. However, it wasn’t until fall of that year when he found SGA to be something to actively participate in. For Bryan, two important aspects of SGA are what allowed him to see it as an important part of his college experience. The first was SGA’s community of humorous and competitive archers, who were willing to help him learn while also being a second family to spend time and become great friends with. The second was archery itself, as it challenged his focus and steadiness - a welcome contrast to his rigorous academic load. Archery was almost meditative to him, constantly drawing him back to the field, motivating him to work to get better.

With these initial experiences, Bryan was driven to join the competitive team in the fall of 2016. While on the team, he competed in multiple indoor competitions, as well as NOCC, proving that despite SGA being his first opportunity to wield a bow, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

It was at NOCC where he had experienced his fondest memory of Sun God Archery. After he had finished shooting, he and other teammates showed their support for UCSD archers who were still competing. An endless cacophony of sound ensued from them as they continued to hype up their fellow archers. For Bryan, this memorable experience was something unique, and it was the first time he “felt so invested in something he wasn’t personally doing.”

After he graduates, Bryan plans to move out of San Diego and continue his career search in other parts of California. He hopes to find more opportunities to continue improving his archery skills. For Bryan, Sun God Archery was only the beginning. Congratulations on graduating!

Jason Tong

Jason Tong

Biochemistry + Cell Biology, Minor in Psychology

Marshall College

Senior Nickname: Most Adorable Dictator

USA Archery Level 3-NTS Coach
2015-2017 USA Archery Collegiate Archery Program Athlete Representative
2014-2015 SGA Vice-President and Team Captain
2015-2016 SGA President
2016-2017 SGA President and Team Captain
2013-2017 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
SGA 2017 Apollonian Award
2014 West Region Best New Archer
2015 Easton Foundation Las Vegas Warm Up Invitational Bronze
2015 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Bronze
2015 All-West Male Recurve
2015 California State Outdoor Collegiate Silver
2016 Western Regional Male Recurve Qualification Bronze
2016 Western Regional Male Recurve Team Bronze
2016 Western Regional Mixed Recurve Champion
2016 Western Regional Male Recurve Champion
2016 California State Outdoor Collegiate Champion
2017 Western Regional Male Recurve Team Silver
2017 Western Regional Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2017 USAT#1 - Arizona Cup Male Recurve Collegiate Bronze
2017 USAT#2 - Gator Cup Male Recurve Collegiate Bronze
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Qualification - 4th Place
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Eliminations - 6th Place
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Qualification Male Recurve Team Silver
2017 National Outdoor Collegiate Championship Qualification Recurve Mixed Team Champion
2017 Western Regional Coach of the Year

Jason started archery with his close friends at a lesson at the Stevens Creek Archery Range in Norcal the summer before he entered UCSD in 2013. After enjoying the experience, he found the beginner workshops held by SGA, and after attending that and the first GBM, decided he would join the club! Although he was enrolled in a beginner class that quarter, he actually never attended because he enjoyed shooting with the club so much more! From then to now, he has become the most decorated person in SGA history with over twenty titles, currently holds almost all of the SGA male recurve indoor club records and all of the male recurve outdoor records, and currently sits with Kaitlyn Huang as the Mixed Recurve National Collegiate Champion.

Some of the biggest memories Jason takes away from being a part of SGA and collegiate archery is the team aspect and the overwhelming support that the team provides, especially at competition. He said, “I remember, first at the 2016 Western Regional Individual Eliminations and Mixed Team Finals, and then at the 2017 NOCC Mixed Team Finals, shooting my last arrows and turning around to see my whole team standing behind me supporting me and cheering me on. Hearing them scream the team cheers really makes archery feel like a team sport, and I wouldn’t be where I am now without them.”

The thing that Jason has struggled with most in archery is self-confidence. “I’ve said this probably dozens of times, but archery is an honest sport. Your process, your technique, your mental mindset, all show up on the target, and it can be extremely frustrating. Then, the flip side to that, after training extremely hard, when I did start shooting the scores that I wanted, it was hard for me to believe that I was really shooting those scores, so at competitions, I didn’t have that faith in my shot and myself. After these past few years, archery has really shown me that if I believe in myself, I can achieve anything.”

He finished saying “I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of SGA and collegiate archery, and that I got to meet every single person I did through archery. While there have been many ups and down, and I have a lot of white hair now because of the club haha, it has provided me with an immense amount of experience, has brought me many lifelong friends, and has definitely been a defining piece of my time in college that I wouldn’t want to trade for anything.

Now that he’s graduated, Jason is working for Easton Foundations at the Easton Archery Center of Excellence in Chula Vista while waiting to hear back from his application to the Resident Athlete Program there! If he makes it, the program provides the opportunity for archers to become professional athletes who train full time for the Summer Olympic Games! He also hopes to continue being a part of the club as a coach to train new athletes and support the team at competition!

We wish Jason the best in getting into the program and expect to see him at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games!

Courtney Carrasca

Courtney Carrasca

Human Developmental Sciences

Warren College

Senior Nickname: Friendliest Moneyki-Neko

2014-2017 Treasurer
2013-2017 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2016 Female Recurve All-American Academic
2016 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Champion
2017 Western Regional Female Recurve Team Champion

Courtney’s journey with SGA started in fall quarter of her freshman year. It was SGA’s first year as an official student organization and free archery workshops were being held to introduce more people to the sport. She and her friend both wanted to do something cool, so they participated in the workshops and enrolled in the recreation class. Initially, she wasn’t sure if she enjoyed archery enough to commit to it, but after taking the archery recreation class for a year, she found that she liked it a lot and wanted to shoot competitively with the team.

Her defining memory of archery was qualifying for SGA’s outdoor team in 2016. The year before, she had missed qualifying for the team by a few points and had felt discouraged to the point that she became afraid to shoot outdoor distances. Even so, she didn’t give up and made it onto the team the following year. She states, “Making it onto the outdoor team gave me a boost of confidence that encouraged me to train smarter and more seriously. I was really thankful for those who helped me get to that point.”

After she graduates, Courtney hopes to work full time at UCSD while still making time for art and spending time with cats. She also plans to continue to shoot recreationally and to help support next year’s team by coaching, driving, taking photos, or bringing food.

We wish Courtney the very best and we hope to continue to see her at the field! Congratulations on graduating!

Brandon Chin

Brandon Chin

Computer Science

Revelle College

Senior Nickname: Chinpotle

2016-2017 UCSD Archery Competitive Team Member

Accolades
2017 Academic All American Barebow Men
2017 All American Barebow Men
2017 NOCC Barebow Men Team 3rd Place
2017 NOCC Barebow Men Individual 4th Place

Brandon began archery in his Senior year at UCSD after watching the 2016 Summer Olympics. Before, Brandon didn’t know that archery had a competitive side. However, after watching the Olympics, he came to the realization that archery was just as competitive as other sports, thus spurring his interest.

His favorite part of being a member of SGA is the community. He says, “Everyone is really cool, inviting and accepting, and great friends.” Brandon also participated in SGA’s first Family Program. Belonging to the “Team Jason” family, Brandon created many close bonds with other club members that he wouldn’t have been able to make without it.

In his first tournament, State Indoor, nervousness prevented Brandon from shooting his best. However, after more practicing and many hours of dedication, Brandon pushed himself to become the best archer he could be. Finally, in the team’s last Collegiate tournament, Brandon excelled in both the individual and team portions of the National Outdoor Collegiate Championships (NOCC), which was held in Chula Vista and co-hosted by SGA and the Easton Archery Center of Excellence.

Out of all the competitions he attended, NOCC was by far his favorite. Not only did he do really well, but he also didn’t forget to enjoy the experience. He says “it was really fun. I saw a lot of familiar faces, and the competition was strong but friendly at the same time.”

After he graduates, Brandon is going to continue working as a software engineer and continue shooting with SGA as a community member :)

As a side note, if one were to randomly ask for his quiver preference… “Field quivers all day er day!" would be his response!