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USA TAEKWONDO PREPARES FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS from USA Taekwondo Press Release (April 12, 2005)
After two weeks of preparation at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center, the United States team readies for Wednesday's opening of the Men's and Women's World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, Spain. The event marks the 17th Men's World Championship and the 10th Women's World Championship, with competition running from Wednesday through Sunday. A total of 124 countries are represented among the 918 athletes (561 male and 357 female).
The lightweight divisions will be first up on Wednesday. Jason Han (Monterey Bay, Calif.) has a first-round bye and then will face a fighter from the Czech Republic. In the women's division, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Nia Abdallah (Houston, Texas) also drew a first-round bye and will have a second-round fight against Venezuela.
Thursday will feature the flyweight and middleweight matches. Male flyweight Tim Thackrey (Tarzana, Calif.) will have a first-round bye and then face a fighter from China in the second round. Female flyweight Jesika Torres (Stockton, Calif.) drew a first-round match against an opponent from Venezuela. In the middleweight competition, Tony Graf (Miami, Fla.) enjoys a first-round bye and will then face the winner of a match between Nigeria and Ghana. Female middleweight Sanaz Shahbazi (Monument, Colo.) also drew a first-round bye. She will match up against a Brazilian opponent in the second round.
The finweight and welterweight divisions will be contested on Friday. Luis Reyes (Chatsworth, Calif.) and Mandy Meloon (Sugar Land, Texas) are the U.S. finweight representatives. Both will have first-round byes, with Reyes facing a fighter from Kyrgyzstan in the second round and Meloon matching up with the winner of the first-round match between Croatia and Lesotho. In the welterweight division, two-time Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) has a bye in the opening round and then faces Korea, while women's welterweight Brittany Nickolyn (Dallas, Texas) will face a fighter from the Netherlands in the second round after drawing a first-round bye.
Saturday features competition in the bantamweight and heavyweight classes. Male bantamweight Brian Gallagher (Littleton, Colo.) has a first-round fight against Belarus, while female bantamweight Eleni Koutsilianos (Astoria, N.Y.) drew a first-round bye. She will face the winner of the Brazil-Philippines first-round match in the second round. In the heavyweight division, Steven Ostrander (San Antonio, Texas) has an opening-round bye and will then fight the winner of the first-round contest between Great Britain and Belarus. Women's heavyweight Lauren Cahoon (Miami, Fla.) will open against Greece.
The World Championships conclude on Sunday with the featherweight competition. The brother and sister tandem of Mark and Diana Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), younger siblings of Steven, will be the final U.S. fighters. Mark Lopez will face a fighter from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the first round. Diana Lopez drew a first-round bye. She will open her competition in the second round against the Ivory Coast.
The U.S. team is led by Men's Head Coach Jean Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), the older brother of Steven, Mark and Diana, and by Women's Head Coach Juan Moreno (Miami, Fla.).
WILKINSON WIN QUALIFER FOR US OPEN from USA Diving Press Release (April 6, 2005)
2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2004 Olympian Laura Wilkinson of Spring, Texas qualified first in the women’s 3-meter springboard event on the first day of the U.S. Open Qualifying Competition at the Mabee Memorial Aquatic Center. Wilkinson will only be competing in the 3-meter event at the U.S. Open as she is recovering from wrist surgery in January and has not been able to train on the 10-meter platform. Purdue University’s Carrie McCambridge qualified second and Kelci Bryant, diving unattached, qualified third.
In the men’s platform event, Woodland Diving Team’s Drew Livingston of The Woodlands, Texas qualified first with the score of 384.93 points. Indiana University’s Marc Carlton took second with 378.99 points, and US Elite Diving Academy’s Landon Marzullo finished third with 357.72 points.
In the synchronized diving events, U.S. Elite Diving’s Michael Guilfoil) and Landon Marzullo qualified first in men’s platform synchro with a score of 207.69 points, while teammates Abby Johnston and Corey Gerlach qualified first in the women’s 3-meter synchro event with 239.61 points.
HESS GRABS JUNIOR OLYMPIC RIFLE GOLD from USA Shooting Press Release (April 6, 2005)
USA Shooting’s National Junior Olympic Rifle Championships finished up on Apr. 5, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. And although the point of any Junior Olympics is to get the younger generation involved and competing against their peers, these Junior Olympics saw a whole new group of young rifle shooters making their way on to the medal stand.
In men’s air rifle, Texan Wesley Hess grabbed his first gold medal in this event. Hess shot a 1,180 qualifying score with a final of 101.8 for a total score of 1,281.8, two points over his closest competitor, Jason Dardas, of Michigan. This will be Dardas’ first year on the National Development Team. Whereas, Joseph and Jonathan Hall, of Carrollton, Ga., who made a name for themselves after their great performance at last year’s Nationals, finished three and four respectively.
Joseph Hall, who is shooting for Jacksonville State University along with his older brother James, was able to grab the gold in men’s three-position with a tremendous score of 2,440.7, over 20 points higher than last year’s winning score. Christopher Abalo (Glendora, Calif.) clinched second with a 2,421.5, while Joshua Albright (Annapolis, Md.) finished in third with a 2,389.3
In women’s air rifle the surprises continued as newcomer Jessica Jasis, of Kentucky, won this event with a 881.8. Meghann Morrill came in second with a 879.9, while Caitlin Morrissey finished third with a 878.6. These finishes for Jasis and Morrill place them on their very first National Development Team. 2004 Olympian and last year’s winner, Sarah Blakeslee, fell into fourth with a 878.1, seven points lower than her last year’s score.
Blakeslee, an Olympic Training Center resident athlete, was able to pull off a win in her second event, women’s three-position rifle, with a 1,256.0 total score. Blakeslee won the gold medal last year in this event, as well, but with a 1,263 total score. Second place went to Jennifer Pason (Milford, NJ) with a 1246.3, and third went to Leah Wilcox with a 1245.1.
ARCHERS SHINE AT TEXAS SHOOTOUT from USA Archery Press Release (April 4, 2005)
Over 125 archers from 21 states competed at the 2005 Texas Shootout, which was held April 1-3 at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, Texas. The TAMU Target Archers hosted this Senior United States Archery Team (USAT) qualifying event.
In the male recurve category, two-time Olympian and recent World Indoor Silver Medalist Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) defeated four-time Olympian Butch Johnson (Woodstock, Conn.) 108-106 in the finals to bring home the gold. TAMU’s Anthony Kaune (Fariault, Minn.) won the bronze medal after beating George Tekmitchov (Salt Lake City, Utah) 93-90.
Indiana University’s Ashley Kamuf (New Albany, Ind.) won the gold in a very close match after defeating 2004 Paralympian and University of Texas student Lindsey Carmichael (Lago Vista, Texas) in a one-arrow shoot-off 9-6, after being tied at 97. Joy Fahrenkrog (Castle Rock, Colo.) defeated 2004 Olympian Stephanie Arnold (Portland, Ind.) 98-85 in the bronze medal match.
James Madison University Freshman Braden Gellenthien (Hudson, Mass.) won his second straight Texas Shootout title in the male compound category by defeating Patrick Parsons (TAMU) 109-95 in the gold medal match. Dave Cousins (Standish, Maine), who recently won a team gold at the World Indoor Championships in March third place, beating Robert Baskind (North Hills, N.Y.) in a close 110-109 bronze medal match.
Winning the women’s compound final and taking home the gold was Nancy Zorn (Warrenville, Ill.). Zorn beat out TAMU Sophomore Jessica Grant (Waddell, Ariz.) 106-99. Amanda Raffaelli (TAMU) defeated 2005 World Indoor Champion Mary Zorn (College Station, Texas) 105-101 to claim the bronze.
FENCING: Texan Hurley Triumphs at Cadet Worlds
from U.S. Fencing Association Press Release (March 24, 2005)
Kelley Hurley (16, San Antonio, Texas) today won the title of 2005 Cadet Women’s Epee World Champion. Hurley thus became the first U.S. women’s epee world champion in any age group.
The only World Championships gold for a U.S. men’s epee fencer was earned by Kaz Campe in the Veteran’s event in 1998.
Hurley marched ruthlessly through her opponents; none scored more than nine touches on her in one bout through the course of the competition.
She won the gold medal bout against Mariella Fossum of Norway 15-9. This was the third medal for the U.S. in the first two days of competition; yesterday Rebecca Ward (15, Portland, Ore.) and Nick Chinman (16, Boulder, Colo.) earned bronze and silver in their events, respectively.
Hurley, ranked 11th in the Junior world standings, will fence in the Junior and Team Epee events later this week.
Hurley’s sister Courtney (14, San Antonio) also competed in the epee event. She finished 43rd, losing to Eun Hee Jeon of Korea in the round of 64. The third U.S. cadet women’s epee fencer, Christa French (17, Southlake, Texas), also had a great competition, finishing 16th.
Seeded 46th going into the direct elimination table, French upset both the 19th and 14th seeds before falling to Katarzyna Dabrowa of Poland 9-15.
In the Cadet Men’s Saber competition, two of the three U.S. fencers finished in the top 16 of the field.
Andrew Bielen (15, Philadelphia, Pa.) lost his bid to advance to the final eight to 8th seed Seppe
Van Holsbeke of Belgium, 15-7. Raskyrie Davidson (16, Newark, N.J.) lost his 15-10 to Great Britain’s Alexander O’Connell, who went on to win the competition.
The third U.S. fencer, Aleksander Ochocki (14, Clark, N.Y.), also lost to O’Connell in the previous round, and finished 26th.
MANCHESTER UNITED AND REAL MADRID COMMIT TO DALLAS CUP XXVII
from Dallas Cup Media Release (March 22, 2005)
Tournament manager Randy Jones confirmed Manchester United and Real Madrid as the first two Super Group commitments for Dallas Cup XXVII. Dallas Cup XXVII will be contested April 9-16, 2006.
“This is a great announcement for the Dallas Cup. These two clubs have the two most prestigious histories in football. Many of their top players started their young careers as players in Dallas Cup. It is a testament to the level of competition we have at Dallas Cup that these two teams have already committed to play in next years Dallas Cup,” said Randy Jones, Tournament Manager.
Manchester United is considered one of the most storied professional sports franchises in the world. They are winners of two European Championship Cups (1968, 1999), eight FA Premier League titles (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003) and seven Football League Division One championship (1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, and 1967).
After over 100 years Real Madrid has positioned itself alongside Manchester United as one of the top football clubs in the world. In 2002, they captured the one piece of football hardware that had eluded them when they captured the Europe Super Cup in Monaco. Real Madrid is the only European team to retain possession of the European Championship Cup five consecutive times and nine times overall (1955-56, 1956-57,1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1997-98, 1999-00, and 2001-02).
Dallas Cup officials also recently announced that they are planning on expanding the tournament field to include U15 and U13 groups and that Frisco Sports & Entertainment Center will play host to the Olympic-style opening ceremonies as well as feature games and additional matches.
DALLAS CUP XXVI KICKS OFF IN DALLAS
By Chris Price (March 20, 2005)
One of the largest and most prestigious soccer tournaments in the United States kicks off Sunday afternoon with the fanfare of the Opening Ceremonies and two key matches in the Super Group Division of Dallas Cup XXVI at Lake Highlands Wildcat Ram Stadium in Dallas.
At 3:30 pm, Aston Villa FC, from England squares off against Maebashi Ikuei from Japan. At 5:45pm, Opening Ceremonies will commence, followed by a 7:00 pm match between Clube Atletico Paranaense of Brazil and local favorite Dallas Texans Red.
The tournament will run from March 20 through March 27, and will feature matches in twelve divisions at various locations around the metropolitan Dallas area.
The Dallas Cup will entertain more than 150,000 soccer fans during the weeklong event, with more than 3000 soccer players and coaches participating from numerous countries around the world.
You can link to all the updated scores and standing from Dallas Cup XXXVI by clicking on the link to the left.
COLORADO RAPIDS, REAL SALT LAKE BATTLE TO 2-2 TIE (MARCH 19, 2005) by Robert Kelly
Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids came to LaPorte High School Stadium to play an exhibition match for soccer fans of the Gulf Coast. After ninty minutes of play, the two Major League Soccer teams battled to a 2-2 tie.
With rain clouds threatening from the west, the two teams took to the field, and the fans did not have to wait long to see a goal.
The Rapids Eric Denton struck first in the third minute of play with a freekick over Real’s four man defense and found pay dirt in the Real Salt Lake net. Goalkeeper D.J. Countness attempted a block with a full body drive, but to no avail.
Four and one half minutes later, in the seventh minute, the Rapids found the goal again. Forward Jeff Cunningham, with the assist from Chris Henderson, scored for the Rapids to take the score to 2-0.
The Rapids goalkeeper Byron Foss came up with three big saves in the twentieth, thirty-sixth, and fortieth minutes, to prevent Real Salt Lake from scoring in the first half.
In the eighteenth minute, a minor altercation between the Rapid’s Alain Nkong and Real’s Kyle Beckerman brought the fans to their feet, but quick action by the officials prevented it from escalating.
Real Salt Lake finally found the goal in the fifty-fourth minute, when a loose ball in the Rapids penalty area was kicked by Jason Kries pass a surprised Foss.
After a long series of give and take play, Real found the goal again in the seventieth minute when Kreis headed a cross from midfielder Andy Williams. Foss was not quick enough to stop the shot, which tied the game at 2-2.
The rest of the game was fairly uneventful with neither team finding the goal again. The game ended with two minutes of added time, however the score remaind unchanged. Both teams took the 2-2 tie to the lockerroom, with no shootout allowed.
The fans in attendance were extreemly excited about the game and the fast paced action. "It was a perfect night for soccer. I am glad the rain didn't get here." said Tammy Jones, a young soccer fan from Pasadena.
With the Houston area hoping for a Major League Soccer team sometime in the future, many fans were very vocal about the prospect.
"Even though the stands were not filled for this game, it shows that the Houston area can and will support pro soccer. We need a team here to show the world soccer can thrive in Houston." said James Brewer, a local youth soccer coach who was in attendance with his sons.
For the fans in attendance, they will have to wait a while longer before professional soccer comes to Houston. For the time being, they will have to settle for watching MLS on television. The 2005 MLS seasons kicks off in two weeks.
The Rapids will remain in Texas for the next week preparing for their next preaseon match against FC Dallas in Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 26. The game will be at Reagan High School’s Nelson Field, with the game time at 7:00pm.
GULF LSC TEAMS GO 1-2-3 AT TAGS SHORT COUSRE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (March 17, 2005) from Gulf LSC Swimming Press Release
The Woodlands Swim Team (TWST) took top honors at the 2005 TAGS Short Course Swimming Championships held in Dallas, Texas. TWST scored 603 poinst to lead all teams. Blue Tide Aquatics finished in second place with 503 points, followed by First Colony Swim Team with 443 points. All three teams are from the Gulf LSC of USA Swimming.
RAWLINGS WINS NCAA TITLE (March 16, 2005) by Robert Kelly
Matt Rawlings of Wharton, Texas came back from fifth place after the qualifying round to clinch his second-straight NCAA Championship title in small bore rifle at the NCAA Men's and Women's Rifle Championships. The University of Alaska-Fairbanks sophomore led his team to second place in the championships. The United States Military Academy was able to break UAF's six-year winning streak, and take home its first NCAA Championship title in any sport in over 50 years.
ERICKSON NAMED 2004 USA TRIATHLON ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (March 16, 2005) by Chris Price
Ann Erickson of The Woodlands, Texas was honored by the Awards Committee of USA Triathlon as the Grand Masters (61-plus) Athlete of the Year.
Erickson won the national title in her division with a time of 2:35:46, and has been undefeated in her age group over the past two years.
The Awards Committee, consisting of members of the USA Triathlon Age Group Commission and various other commissions and committees, considered the results from various high-profile races during the year.
HOUSEHOLTER NAMED HEAD COACH (March 16, 2005) by Robert Kelly
Christy Householter of Garland, Texas has been named the head coach for the U.S. Girls Junior National Goalball Team by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes. Householter will coach the Junior National Goalball Team and its athletes at various national and international competitions around the world.
MLS EXHIBITION SOCCER COMES TO LAPORTE (March 16, 2005) by Robert Kelly
Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and expansion team Real Salt Lake makes an appearence in Houston with an exhibition match at La Porte High School on Saturday, March 19 at 7:30pm.
The game, was previously scheduled to be played in Las Vegas, was moved to the Houston area.
Fans will be able to see players such as MLS' all-time leading goal scorer Jason Kreis of Real Salt Lake, along with teammates Nelson Akwari and Rusty Pierce, both of whom grew up playing in the Gulf Coast area.
Others players expected to participate include former U.S. national team players Mark Chung and Chris Henderson of Colorado.
Nat Borchers, Pablo Maestroeni, Richie Kotschau and Joe Cannon of the Rapids as well as Clint Mathis of Real Salt Lake, will not be in attendance in LaPorte, as they will be in competiting for the United States against Honduras in Albuquerque, N.M., on the same day.
LAPORTE'S CLEMENTS NAMED USATF ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (March 15, 2005) from USATF Media Relations
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INDIANAPOLIS - Kerron Clement has been named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week after breaking the indoor 400-meter world record at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
A 19-year-old sophomore from the University of Florida, Clement dazzled the audience winning in 44.57 seconds, bettering the previous world record of 44.63 set by National Track & Field Hall of Famer, two-time Olympic 400m gold medalist and outdoor world record holder Michael Johnson at the USA Indoor Championships on March 4, 1995.
The reigning world junior and NCAA 400m hurdles champion, Clement later that evening anchored Florida's 4x400m relay team that won the national title in a new collegiate record time of 3:03.51. Also at the NCAA championships, Wallace Spearmon of the University of Arkansas twice broke the American indoor record in the 200 meters, including his winning time in the final of 20.10 seconds.
Now in its fifth year, USATF's Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
TEXANS WIN GOLD AT USA MASTERS INDOOR TRACK NATIONALS (March 15, 2005) by Chris Price
BOISE, ID-Four Texas athletes brought home gold medals to the Lone Star State from the 2005 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at Jacksons Track in Nampa, Idaho.
Ralph Maxwell of Alamo, Texas, leaped 6.59 meters (21feet 7.5 inches) to set an American record in the men’s 85 age division of the triple jump. The 85-year-old Maxwell bettered the previous mark of 6.31 meters (20 feet 8.5 inches) set in 2002 by Clarence Trahan.
Cheryl Mellenthin of Cat Spring, Texas took top honors in the women’s 45 age division of the super weight throw with a heave of 4.33 meters (14 feet 2.5 inches).
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Manchester United and Real Madrid Commit To Dallas Cup XXVII from Dallas Cup Media Relations Department (March 22, 2005) Tournament manager Randy Jones confirmed Manchester United and Real Madrid as the first two Super Group commitments for Dallas Cup XXVII. Dallas Cup XXVII will be contested April 9-16, 2006. “This is a great announcement for the Dallas Cup. These two clubs have the two most prestigious histories in football. Many of their top players started their young careers as players in Dallas Cup. It is a testament to the level of competition we have at Dallas Cup that these two teams have already committed to play in next years Dallas Cup,” said Randy Jones, Tournament Manager. Manchester United is considered one of the most storied professional sports franchises in the world. They are winners of two European Championship Cups (1968, 1999), eight FA Premier League titles (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003) and seven Football League Division One championship (1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, and 1967). After over 100 years Real Madrid has positioned itself alongside Manchester United as one of the top football clubs in the world. In 2002, they captured the one piece of football hardware that had eluded them when they captured the Europe Super Cup in Monaco
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