COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Ryan Richter, a member of the tennis and esports programs for Ripon, has earned a spot on another roster: the United States Archery Team (USAT). 

The sophomore was named one of 20 men's U-21 representatives on the roster for his performance in USAT Series Events across the country in 2025, with Richter finishing the year ranked #3 nationally in fixed pins for his division. For Richter, the achievement comes after a later start in the sport than some. 

"I started archery in my freshman year of high school. Me and my friend, we were both kind of bored, and we decided to get both of our moms to go and get us archery lessons." Richter recalls of his start in the sport. "I was kind of doing it on the offhand… my main things were tennis and soccer at the time." 

As his ability in archery improved, Richter's competitive spirit took over.

"Last year I started to get real into it. I got a better bow, I started going to more tournaments… I went to a few different places around the US for more national shoots."

One of these national shoots was the 2024 Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) Target Nationals, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Split into two rounds of competition, Richter would come out of the qualification round as the #4 seed, the bottom rank moving into the elimination round. Undeterred by the low position, Richter earned a first round upset, taking out the #1 seed by just one point, 117-116, and going on to win gold in the division. 

"This was a big event… Different archers and people were talking about, 'did you hear the four seed upset the first seed for U-21 fixed pins?'... It was one of my first big archery moments."

The success, the size, and the competition of the event sticks out in Richter's mind as formative.

"There isn't [as much] competition if I go to state shoots or if I go to pin shoots, so sometimes I'll medal just because I'm the only person in the division, which doesn't feel exactly as rewarding."

After his 2024 success, Richter set his sights on the USAT. To make the team, Richter would need to finish 2025 ranked in the top five nationally for his division.

"There are a few different select [tournaments] that you need to attend that are in the nationally ranked system. For me, it was the SoCal shoot, the Buckeye in Ohio, and then the JOAD Nationals… I knew two really good people moved up from U-18 to U-21, and I was like 'Okay, these guys are going to be really good, and if you could beat them, that would be really cool, but if not, just try to beat everyone else'... And that's what I ended up doing."

Richter's campaign for the USAT would require strong showings at the three tournaments, taking him to California and New Mexico before finishing in Ohio.

Richter would come out of the SoCal qualification round as the third seed, finishing the elimination round in fourth for 3.5 points. Picking up a third place finish at the JOAD Target Nationals behind the two aforementioned archers, a strong showing at the Buckeye Classic in July would seal his place on the team, and a second place finish did exactly that. 

While Richter's pride at achieving his goal is evident, his focus remains on the future. "I was pretty excited… I was like cool, I got this, now I can go do some other things [in the sport]."

What those other things are will take specific shape as 2026 approaches and the USAT expectations are communicated, but in the meantime, Richter is gearing up for a higher level in the next year. 

"I'm going to put much more emphasis on trying to place and just put more emphasis on training in general. I'm guessing I'm also going to have to go to a few more shoots than I did last year, so that's going to be interesting, whether they're competitive or pinshoots." 

The 2026 USAT schedule opens with the Indoor Nationals, held at a variety of venues across 16 states, running from January 2 to March 1. From there, events like the Gator Cup in Florida and the Salt Lake Summit in Utah occupy April and May, giving way to the conclusion of the schedule with the SoCal Showdown, the Buckeye Classic, and the JOAD Target Nationals all held in July. 

For the full USAT announcement and release, click here. For the full USAT 2026 Qualifier schedule, click here.