By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Twenty years and four Olympics have passed since Cincinnatian Darrell Pace won his second Olympic gold medal in two tries in archery. It has been 16 years since Pace finished his Olympic career with a team silver medal in 1988 and 12 since he watched as an alternate in the 1992 Games. Perhaps it's about time for another from the region to pick up the torch.

And who better than Jason McKittrick, 29, an archer raised in Milan, Ind., and living in Holton, Ind., who lists Pace as his biggest influence. McKittrick was an alternate for the men's archery team in the 2000 Olympics. This week at the Olympic Archery Trials, with the closest thing to home-field advantage in Mason as any of the hopefuls will get, he'll try to go one step farther and qualify in the top three to make the Athens team.

"(Being an alternate) was difficult," McKittrick said. "I traveled with the team to several tournaments in the months leading up to the games, and I was doing pretty well and maybe even beating some of the guys. I knew I was there and just wasn't able to play. ... So it was a little tough, but at least I knew I could play in the same field as them."

He enters the trials ranked fourth behind 2000 Olympic team members Vic Wunderle and Butch Johnson and behind Columbus native Chris Shull. But it wasn't too long ago he was competing against Pace. McKittrick started bow hunting at age 15, but switched to compete in recurve archery when he got to college. When he began entering tournaments, Pace was there to offer advice.

"He gave me pointers and encouragement," McKittrick said.

Pace remembers a bet they had when McKittrick first started and Pace had quit competing. McKittrick joked that he could hit his first 1,300 (a milestone in an archer's career) before Pace could do it again. Pace said, "That'll be the day," and started training again. In a month, the veteran had won the bet.

"Kids get you upset. So I trained, showed it could be done, and hung up my bow again. ... I gave him some incentive," Pace said. "I won't take credit for coaching him, but I gave him some pointers when my career slowed. I gave him some ideas."

Pace, a Reading High graduate, will be at the trials this week, too, if McKittrick needs more motivation. Pace is in charge of the trials' field operations as director of the host Cincinnati Junior Olympians. He quit competing years ago to teach and stay involved with his children's sports of choice, but he said if he wanted to, he could still be competing with the rest of the country's top archers - possibly even making the Olympics.

"Oh sure, but I just don't have the time to train," Pace said. "You have to have the mind and heart to want to do it."

Which might be the only thing separating the region from its next Olympic archer. "(McKittrick) has always had excellent form," Pace said. "I joke with him, 'There's nothing more I can do with your form. The problem is between your ears.' This is a very mental sport. He's got to stay focused."

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E-mail ckane@enquirer.com