Mackenzie Brown hopes for medal as lone woman archer for Team USA

Mackenzie Brown had a first on Friday in the Olympic archery competition.

In the second half of her first Olympics, Brown’s finger sling snapped and her bow dropped to the ground.

“What a time,” said Brown, who hails from Flint, Texas, 10 miles south of Tyler, on Old Jacksonville Highway.

Brown quickly fixed her equipment and went back to work.

“It was well worn, so it broke during the competition,” Brown said. “It was still a 10, so I just adjusted and kept going.”

Brown sat 22nd at intermission but was within six points of the top 10. She finished 19th in the 72-arrow ranking round with 641 points.

The ranking determines the brackets for the week.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have shot better,” Brown said. “But I feel like I did really well, and considering the nerves that happened, I did my best.”

The U.S. men finished second in qualifying, and Brady Ellison of Globe, Ariz., led Team USA in individual competition by ranking third with 342 points.

Zach Garrett of Wellington, Mo., qualified 19th, and Jake Kaminski of Gainesville, Fla., qualified 24th.

“I’m really happy we’re second [in the team competition],” Kaminski said. “It’s better than we did in London, and it means we would meet the Koreans in the finals instead of the semifinals, so that’s good. The top two teams and strongest hitters in the field, that’s what everybody wants to see for the gold match.”

Korea was the top team qualifier, with Kim Woojin scoring a world-record breaking 700.

The U.S. women aren’t in the team competition as Brown is the only qualifier. She fits right in with her male teammates, though.

“It’s pretty cool,” Brown said of being a one-woman team. “I have to deal with all the boy cooties, but it’s still pretty good.”

Brown, 21, hopes to hold up her end by bringing home a medal in the individual competition.

“I’m going to go out and do my best just like I do every competition,” Brown said. “Qualification is just a way to put yourself in a bracket; how you react after that is up to you. So for me, I’m just going to go out and do my best and keep a good mental process and keep going and stay strong.

“The goal is definitely the medal match, but my goal personally is just to make shots and do my best.”

Brown competes again Monday in individual eliminations.

This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Mackenzie Brown hopes for medal as lone woman archer for Team USA."