Eddie Johnson (Palm Coast, Fla.) found the back of the net twice as the U.S. Men’s National Team scored a 2-1 victory over Antigua Barbuda in the semifinal round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying in North Sound, Antigua, on Oct. 12. The U.S. will finish the semifinal round on Oct. 16 against Guatemala in Kansas City, Kan.
THE BEST (ALL) AROUNDBrenna Dowell (Odessa, Mo.) posted a score of 57.100 to win the all-around gymnastics title at the 2012 Mexican Open on Oct. 13 in Acapulco, Mexico. Dowell had the top score on every event except the balance beam, where Mexico’s Yessenia Estrada posted the highest score. Estrada finished second with a score of 56.150. Donnell Whittenburg (Baltimore, Md.) was the top U.S. male finisher, scoring 84.900 to finish sixth.BADMINTONThe U.S. badminton team extended its record to 14-1 at the XVII Pan Am Badminton Championships Team Event on Oct. 9 in Lima, Peru. Sattawat Pongnairat (Orange, Calif.) has remained unbeaten throughout the tournament in men’s singles, while Jamie Subandhi (Westminster, Calif.) has been equally impressive on the women’s side. Meanwhile, Identical twins Rulan and Rulien Yeh (Irvine Valley, Calif.) have dominated the women’s doubles division.BOXINGOlympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) returned to the ring on Oct. 13 to defeat Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) and repeat as champion of the 2012 National PAL Championships in Toledo, Ohio. Brother-sister duo Rashidi and Rashida Ellis (Lynn, Mass.) joined Shields as three of the 31 athletes that were crowned national champion at the event.CYCLINGDana Weber (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) took 73rd place at the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships on Oct. 7 in Ornans, France. Weber finished the 84-kilometer course in 5:32:37.DIVINGGracia Leydon Mahoney (Newton, Mass.) claimed gold in the girls group A 3-meter at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships on Oct. 13 in Adelaide, Australia. David Dinsmore (New Albany, Ohio) and Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass.) captured bronze in the boy group B platform and the boys group A 1-meter.EQUESTRIANMeg O’Mara (Rumson, N.J.) overcame 257 competitors to win the Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals at the 67th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Oct. 14 in Harrisburg, Pa. In the Randolph College/USEF Junior Jumper Individual Championship, Dana Scott (Wilton, Conn.) was nearly perfect, recording just two faults to win the event.The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team leapt up the leaderboard and into sixth place at the Boekelo CCIO3* in Boekelo, Netherlands, on Oct. 14. Jonathan Holling (Ocala, Fla.) riding Downtown Harrison led the way with a near-perfect one fault ride that jumped him 25 places to finish 31st.FENCINGAlexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.) and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) each topped the podium at the October North American Cup in St. Louis, Mo., on Oct. 13. Massialas clipped teammate Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif.), 15-14, in the division I men’s foil final. Hurley defeated Poland’s Katarzyna Dabrowa, 15-13, in the division I women’s epee. Sage Palmedo (Portland, Ore.; cadet saber), Nathan Lee (Las Vegas, N.Y.; division II epee) and Xiao-Qing Tsai (Salt Lake City, Utah; division II foil) all claimed victories in St. Louis.FIGURE SKATINGSkating together in a competition for only the second time, Kaitlin Hawayek (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Jean-Luc Baker (Edmonds, Wash.) brought home silver at the final junior grand prix event of the season in Chemnitz, Germany. Leah Keiser (Wexford, Pa.) tallied 141.15 points to earn fourth place and a spot in the JGP Final in Sochi, Russia, in December.RUGBYThe U.S. went 1-5 during its games at the HSBC Sevens World Series, which was held Oct. 13-14 in Gold Coast, Australia. The U.S. lost to New Zealand, 19-7, South Africa, 33-5, and Canada, 22-21, on Oct. 13. Returning to action on Oct. 14, the U.S. dropped its opening game to Wales, 27-19, before smothering Tonga, 40-5, and losing to Scotland, 40-5.SQUASHChristopher Gordon (Long Island City, N.Y.) was the only American to advance out of the first round at the U.S. Open, held Oct. 4-12 at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Gordan won his opening-round match, 11-9, 8-11, 13-11, 5-11, 11-6, over Hisham Ashour of Egypt on Oct. 6, before falling to Karim Darwish, also of Egypt, 11-4, 11-3, 11-8, on Oct. 8.TAEKWONDOTeam USA finished with 10 medals at the 18th Pan American Taekwondo Championships, which ran from Oct. 10-12 in Sucre, Bolivia. The team captured four gold, two silver and four bronze medals in the competition. Simone Devito (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.; -53 kg.), Lauren Hamon (Jacksonville, Fla.; -73 kg.), Tashi Sherpa (Queens, N.Y.; -54 kg.) and Jason Neville (Edmond, Okla.; -87 kg.) all earned gold medals.TRIATHLONSix Americans raced their way to top-10 finishes at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 13. Mary Beth Ellis (Boulder, Colo.) finished fifth, the top American finish, in a time of 9:22:57. On the men’s side, Andy Potts (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Timothy O’Donnell (Boulder, Colo.) finished seventh and eighth with times of 8:31:45 and 8:33:28.UPCOMING CALENDARDATE SPORT LOCATION EVENT10/16-21 Fencing Krems, Austria Florida Orange Blossom10/19-20 Table Tennis Lakeland, FL Summer Classic Open10/20 Fencing Pittsburgh, PA RYC Pittsburgh Steel Yough Classic10/20 Judo Aurora, CO Denver Classic Judo Championships10/20-21 Table Tennis Erie, PA 2012 Millcreek Open
