CAMERON, Okla. — Cameron, Oklahoma is home to around 300 people.
Including one world champion archer: 14-year old Jake Cauthen.
Jake has practiced the sport for four years, and by now, it’s second nature.
“It’s all muscle memory,” Jake said. “Just the thousands of arrows I’ve practiced with, I have everything down before I go up there.”
He has his routine down pat.
“First I get my stance down once I get on the line where I need to shoot at,” Jake said. “And then I anchor my bow right there. Then I get a good grip, and then I just release. That’s about it.”
It was that routine and the hours upon hours of repetition, that prepared Jake for the NASP 3D Archery World Championship in Louisville, Ky. last month.
“The expectation was yeah, he was going to do well because Jake’s a good archer,” said Hank Austin, Jake’s coach. “But we certainly didn’t expect him to bring the world championship home.”
That’s exactly what Jake did though, winning by two arrows to finish 1st among 241 middle school boys, and bring home a world championship.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it at first,” Jake said. “I would’ve been happy with a top-five (finish), but when I won I was so happy. I wasn’t really excited, I was just happy when I won.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“His dad was tearing up, I was tearing up, our superintendent was tearing up,” Austin said. “We were on the phones blowing up phones calling school board members telling everyone we’ve got a world champ at Cameron.”
Austin believes Cameron can have an Olympian if Jake continues on his current path.
“Oh, he can go to the Olympics,” Austin said. “If he continues to pursue this sport in high school and college, he definitely has what it takes.”
But for now, Jake is just enjoying being a world champion.
“Nothing else I can say, except for it feels amazing,” Jake said.