Elena Pirozhkova (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 63 kg./138.75 lbs. and Adeline Gray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 67 kg./147.5 lbs. wrestled their way to gold medals at the 2012 FILA Women's World Championships, on Sept. 29 and 27 in Sherwood Park, Alberta. The victories marked the first time the U.S. has had multiple gold medalists in a world championships since 1999 and the four total medals won by the team were the most since 2005.
GOLDEN ROLL
Chris Barnes (Double Oak, Texas) and Kelly Kulick (Union, N.J.) rolled their way to gold medals at the inaugural WTBA World Singles Championships on Sept. 25 in Limassol, Cyprus. Barnes defeated teammate Tommy Jones (Simpsonville, S.C.), 212-198, to give the U.S. a gold-silver finish, while Kulick used a 10th-frame strike to capture a 228-226 victory over Latvia's Diana Zavjalova.
BASKETBALL
The U.S. men's and women's 3x3 U18 teams captured silver and gold at the 2012 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship on Sept. 30 in Alcobendas, Spain. The men went 8-2 in the tournament, losing a heartbreaking gold-medal game showdown with undefeated Serbia, 21-20, in overtime. Meanwhile, the women took an early 4-3 lead and never looked back as they cruised to a 21-13 victory over host-nation Spain, finishing with a 7-1 record.
CYCLING
Cameron Chambers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Jari Kirkland (Crested Butte, Colo.) showed their endurance, capturing the 2012 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships on Sept. 30 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Chambers took the lead on the first lap and never relinquished it. Kirkland had tough competition in runner-up Kristin Desantis (Allenspark, Colo.), but was able to pull away after dark to capture her second 24-hour national title.
EQUESTRIAN
On Sept. 29, Chris Hickey (Colora, Md.) rode Witness Hilltop to first place in the FEI Prix St. Georges Open in Devon, Pa. Meanwhile, Pierre St. Jacques (Anthony, Fla.) and Lucky Tiger garnered a second-place finish in the grand prix freestyle on Sept. 30.
FIELD HOCKEY
Competing at the Champions Challenge I in Dublin, the U.S. Women's National Team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat South Africa, 4-2, on Sept. 30. Katie O'Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.) scored twice for the U.S., while Katelyn Falgowski's (Landenburg, Pa.) corner hit proved to be the game-winner.
FIGURE SKATING
Madison Chock (Torrance, Calif.) and Evan Bates (Ann Arbor, Mich.) earned their first gold medal on Sept. 29 at the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. Caydee Denney (Ocala, Fla.) and John Coughlin (Kansas City, Mo.) also teamed up to medal, claiming silver.
Joshua Farris (Renton, Wash.) struck gold at the 2012 JGP Slovenia on Sept. 29, qualifying him for the 2012 JGP Final, an event in which he is the reigning bronze medalist. Barbie Long (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up her first JGP medal, earning silver in Slovenia.
HOCKEY
Team McClanahan and game MVP Ryan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.) overmatched Team Housley, 5-2, in the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 29. Fitzgerald earned MVP honors after notching three assists. Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) found the back of the net both times for Team Housley.
LUGE
Sixteen-year-old Tucker West (Ridgefield, Conn.) raced by a field that included Olympians to defend his title at the 2012 USA Luge Start Championship on Sept. 27 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Vancouver Olympian Julia Clukey (Augusta, Maine) held off Kate Hansen (La Canada, Calif.) for the victory in the women's competition.
SAILING
Ed Eckert (West Bend, Wis.) held off a late surge by August Barkow (Chicago, Ill.) to claim the 2012 Championship of Champions in Pewaukee, Wis., on Sept. 30. Eckert had built a 19-point lead heading into the final day of competition and despite Barkow's rally, Eckert held on to win by two points.
SHOOTING
Josh Richmond (Hillsgrove, Pa.) led the U.S. at the 2012 ISSF World Cup final, earning the gold medal in double trap as Team USA topped the medal table with a gold and two silvers. Brandy Drozd (Bryan, Texas) and Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) both captured silver in skeet shooting.
SOCCER
The U.S. and Korea DPR played to a 1-1 draw at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on Sept. 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite tying France, 0-0, on Sept. 22 and routing Gambia, 6-0, on Sept. 25, the U.S. failed to advance based on goal differential.
SPEEDSKATING
Five men and five women used the 2012 U.S. Single Distance Short Track Championships in Kearns, Utah, which ran from Sept. 27-30, to claim spots on the fall world cup team. JR Celski (Federal Way, Wash.) and Jessica Smith (Melvindale, Mich.) claimed top honors in the overall classification.
SQUASH
Julian Illingworth (Portland, Ore.) beat England's Olivier Pett, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, in the finals of the Nash Cup on Sept. 24 in London, Ontario. The victory gave Illingworth his third PSA World Tour title in a row and eighth overall, while he became the first U.S. Nash Cup champion.
TENNIS
The U.S. Junior Fed Cup Team topped the medal stand on Sept. 30 at the 2012 Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, defeating Russia, 3-0, in Barcelona, Spain. Taylor Townsend (Boca Raton, Fla.), Gabrielle Andrews (Pomona, Calif.) and Louisa Chirico (Harrison, N.Y.) all captured victories in the finals. Meanwhile, the boy's U-16 team out-dueled France, 2-0, in the bronze-medal game of the 2012 Junior Davis Cup.
TRACK & FIELD
Kevin Castille (Nicholasville, Ky.) beat the field at the 2012 USA Masters 5 km Championships on Sept. 30 in Syracuse, N.Y. Castille finished the race in 14:25, 28 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
TRIATHLON
Sarah Groff (Hanover, N.J.) and Gwen Jorgensen (Milwaukee, Wis.) swam, biked and ran their way to top-eight finishes at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama on Sept. 29 in Japan. Groff came across the finish line in 1:59:36 to finish seventh, while Jorgensen dashed across 20 seconds later in eighth.
Greg Billington (Colorado Springs, Colo.) used his speed and transition skills to capture victory over a field of Olympians and world champions at the Formula 1 Triathlon on Coronado Island, Calif. In a unique format, Billington took the lead in the running portion and distanced himself from the pack. Teammate Eric Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.) came in third to complete the successful performance for Team USA.
VOLLEYBALL
Emily Day (Torrance, Calif.) and Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) beat Summer Ross (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Morgan Beck (Coto de Caza, Calif.) in an all- American final at the 2012 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit event at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., on Sept. 30. On the men's side, Tri Bourne (Aiea, Hawaii) and Will Montgomery (Santa Barbara, Calif.) couldn't hold off Canada in the gold-medal match.
UPCOMING CALENDER
9/29-10/7 - Field Hockey; Dublin; Champions Challenge I
10/6-10/7 - Fencing, Budapest, Hungary, Foil Budapest HUN European Cadet Circuit
10/6-10/7 - Fencing, Godollo, Hungary, Saber Godollo HUN European Cadet Circuit
10/6-10/7 - Judo, Istanbul, Turkey, IJF World Cup Istanbul
10/6-10/7 - Judo, Minsk, Belarus , IJF World Cup Istanbul
10/6 - Table Tennis, El Monte, CA, LATTA Open
10/6-10/7 - Table Tennis, Newport News, VA, 2012 Virginia Joola Open
9/29-10/14 - Roller Sports, Auckland, New Zealand, 2012 Figure World Championships