2011 Parapan American Games - Day 7

U.S. Paralympics November 20, 2011

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Photo: U.S. Paralympics

Oz Sanchez and Matt Updike celebrate gold and silver in the men's cycling road race (H2-4).

Cycling team wraps up competition at top of medal count
Team USA successfully closed out the cycling competition at the 2011 Parapan American Games, winning eight medals in the road race on Saturday.

Gold medalists included Oz Sanchez (San Diego, Calif.) in the men’s H2-4 category, Monica Bascio (Evergreen, Colo.) in the women’s H3-4 event and Greta Neimanas (Chicago, Ill.) in the women’s C1-5 race.

“I love the discipline of training,” said Bascio. “It’s very hard to manage it all having a young son, but my husband is so supportive in helping to make it work. I’m definitely working toward London and the 2012 Paralympic Games. I’m very goal-oriented, so if I want to make it happen, I will.”

“I was really glad we had the opportunity to start the race with the men because it made for a good field size,” said Neimanas. “We were able to hang in the front group for a good while and  work with our teammate Mike to help him get a medal, too. I’m really happy to come away with the win.”

Neimanas is referring to teammate Mike Farrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who claimed silver in the men’s C1-3 race.  Joining Farrell with silver medals were the tandem team of Karissa Whitsell (Eugene, Ore.) and pilot Lisa Turnbull (Springfield, Ore.), Steve Peace (San Diego, Calif.) in the mixed T1-2 category, Matt Updike (Denver, Colo.) in the men’s H2-4 race and Allison Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in the women’s C1-5 event.

“This has been an absolutely amazing experience here in Guadalajara,” said Sanchez. “My family is from here, so for me it’s the motherland, I call it ‘the source.’ It’s been great to be able to come race here.”

Head coach and director of Paralympic Cycling High Performance Craig Griffin was pleased with not only today’s road race, but how the U.S. cyclists performed overall.
 
"Team USA exceeded my pre-event expectations, not only on the field of play but by how they conducted themselves as ambassadors for the USA and the sport of para-cycling,” said Griffin. “I think that we have a tremendous amount of talent heading into London. The key for us now is to increase our focus in every aspect of training and preparation with the knowledge that the rest of the world is attempting to accomplish the same."

Team USA collected a total of 24 medals between the road and track cycling, winning the overall medal count in both disciplines.  On the road, the U.S. picked up 12 medals (five gold, six silver and one bronze) and earned an equal number on the track that included four gold, five silver and three bronze.
 
Double gold for wheelchair basketball teams
It's a gold medal sweep for Team USA in men's and women's wheelchair basketball at the 2011 Parapan American Games.
 
The women opened the night by defeating arch-rival Canada, 69-31. Becca Murray (Germantown, Wis.) led the way with 15 points while Natalie Schneider (Ord, Neb.) and Desiree Miller (Monroe, Wash.) each added 14 points.
 
"It's amazing how my life has come full circle. Eleven years ago today I broke my back and I never would have imagined I would be playing for a gold medal on the same day 11 years later," said Alana Nichols (Farmington, N.M.) "It's an honor to play for the U.S. and this is such an amazing team and we have such a great coach."
 
"We are deep. We can play everybody and I don't have to hesitate to put anyone of our players on the floor," said head coach Dave Kiley. "That's our strength. Teams might hang with us for a little bit, but we can keep throwing fresh bodies out there when they're tired. It's a real team, nobody is selfish."
 
The U.S. men took to the court next and handed a 60-40 defeat to the surprise silver medalists from Colombia. Joe Chambers (Davis, Calif.) picked up another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Schulte (Manchester, Mich.) chipped in 16 points.
 
"The journey starts far beyond this tournament," said Matt Scott (Detroit, Mich.) "We've had a lot of disappointments and feelings of underachieving after a lot of big tournaments and we're out to prove we are the best 12 wheelchair basketball players in the world. Qualifying for London was a good step and now we can go out there and show people who we really are."
 
“It’s awesome to see these guys get their gold medals, said head coach Jim Glatch. “We put our staple on half-court defense and we stayed focused the whole week, but they know this is just step one to get ready for next year.”
 
Both teams also secured slots for the U.S. to the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
 
Women’s goalball wins gold, men’s team claims silver
Asya Miller (Lapeer, Mich.), Lisa Czechowski (Tucson, Ariz.), Robin Theryoung (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Amanda Dennis (Peachtree City, Ga.), Nicole Buck (Kalamazoo, Mich.), and Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.) went undefeated at the Parapan American Games. The team won its gold medal game on Saturday (Nov. 19) against Brazil in an exciting game that ended with the scoreboard reading 2-0.

“It’s great to represent our country and get stuff done on the court, said Armbruster. “This was definitely a team effort because all six of us went out there every day and left it out on the court. It showed at the end with a 6-0 record.”

The men’s team composed of Andrew Jenks (Wilmington, Del.), Tyler Merren (Kalamazoo, Mich.), John Kusku (Clio, Mich.), Joseph Hamilton (Sacramento, Calif.), Donte Mickens (Tallahassee, Fla.), and Daryl Walker (Jacksonville, Fla.) fell short of qualifying the U.S. team for London after losing its gold medal match against Brazil with a score of 5-3.

U.S. Powerlifting Team closes Parapan Ams with two medals
Mary Stack (Ann Arbor, Mich.) won a bronze medal today, lifting 116kg, 122kg and 127kg in three attempts. She also set a new personal best lift with the last mark at 127kg.

“To achieve my personal best is great, but to do it here at the Parapans is even better,” said Stack. “This has been a long time in the making.”

Powerlifting head coach Mary Hodge said Stack is now ranked third in the world in her weight class, and has met the qualifying standard for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Ahmed Shafik (Tucson, Ariz.) will also bring home a bronze medal; he cleared a top lift of 175kg to claim the third spot on the podium.

“This medal means a lot,” said Shafik. “This is the result of hard workouts, great coaching and the support of my friends and family.”

Swimming nets two more medals on final day in the pool
Anna Johannes (Alexandria, Va.) won her fifth gold medal at the pool in the women’s 100m freestyle (S9), while Irina Kaplan (Redmond, Wash.) won the bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke (S6) on the final day of competition at Scotiabank Aquatics Center.
 
Team USA concluded the Parapan Ams with a total of 24 medals (eight gold, 11 silver, and five bronze).
 
Judo competition continues on Sunday 
Despite some hard fought matches, Team USA fell short in competition today. U.S. athletes Josh Farra (Philadelphia, Pa.), Ron Hawthorne (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Angela Moran (Kalamazoo, Mo.) and Cindy Simon (Wayne, N.J.) will all compete tomorrow; action continues beginning with the men’s -66kg competition.
 
View photos from Day 7 action
 
2011 Parapan American Games Medals Table
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Brazil 79 60 55 194
2 Mexico 49 59 54 162
3 USA 51 47 32 130
4 Argentina 19 24 30 73
5 Canada 13 22 27 62

Tags: 2011 Parapan American Games, mobile, Road to London

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