By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

John Magera had never even seen an Olympic bow until he walked into fellow archer Mark Williams' shop two years ago. But he had long been involved with other types of archery, so he decided to give it a shot.

Now, a year after he started competing, he's calling his friends and family from the U.S. Olympic Archery Trials to say the move is paying off in unexpected ways.

"This falls into the 'you ain't gonna believe this' category," Magera said.

With one day and seven round-robin matches remaining in the Trials at Mason's Heritage Oak Park, Magera holds the third and final spot to make the U.S. team. He surged ahead Thursday and worked through a puzzling wind Friday for a score of 3,707, trailing Vic Wunderle (3,812) and Richard Johnson (3,795).

Scott McKechnie and Jason McKittrick, of Holton, Ind., sit within 15 points of Magera.

"I have a long way to go," Magera said. "There are guys right on my tail, gunning for my spot."

Despite a "rough day," Jennifer Nichols sits comfortably in first place for the women with 3,716, nearly 200 points ahead of second-place Stephanie Arnold. Janet Dykman sits in third with 3,512 points, and 16-year-old Kendra Harvey is in fourth. The three archers and the one alternate for the men and women's teams will be announced at the conclusion of today's matches.

"It's a long tournament - a lot of arrows, a lot of matches - and it's hard to stay focused. I think my mind took a little vacation," said Nichols, who still lost only two of her seven matches. "It's definitely always very encouraging to look at the scoreboard and know that even though I'm having a rough day, I'm not losing my placement."

Nichols was expected to take over the tournament from the start, coming in as the top-ranked archer. But Magera has surprised a few people, including himself.

"I came here just hoping to make the 16 cut, and when I made that, I hoped to make the eight cut. It's been one goal at a time," Magera said. "I don't feel any pressure."

Magera, 34, has been an archer since he can remember, "chopping down (his) mom's good trees" for equipment when he was a kid.

Now he is hours from learning if his favorite hobby will earn him a trip to Athens.

"I just love to shoot archery," Magera said. "It doesn't matter if the guy next to me is competing against me or not. ... I've already far exceeded my expectations."

Olympic Trials

USA ARCHERY

MASON

FRIDAY

Men

1. Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) - 3812

2. Butch Johnson (Woodstock, Conn.) - 3795

3. John Magera (Carterville, Ill.) - 3707

4. Scott McKechnie (Orange, Calif.) - 3696

5. Jason McKittrick (Holton, Ind.) - 3692

6. Joe McGlyn (Floral Park, N.Y.) - 3684

7. John Burkett (McDonald, Pa.) - 3674

8. Guy Krueger (Blessing, Texas) - 3663

Women

1. Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyo.) - 3716

2. Stephanie Arnold (Portland, Ind.) - 3519

3. Janet Dykman (El Monte, Calif.) - 3512

4. Kendra Harvey (Rio Rancho, N.M.) - 3489

5. Ashley Kamuf (New Albany, Ind.) - 3463

6. Jessica Carleton (Redford, Mich.) - 3460

7. Joy Fahrenkrog (Castle Rock, Colo.) - 3458

8. Judy DeVoll (Gadsden, Ala.) - 3430