Defending world champions Steve Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) continued their domination of the two-man bobsled, winning the first world cup event of the season in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Nov. 9. The U.S. men finished gold and silver a day after the U.S. women finished silver and bronze on the Lake Placid track. Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) and Lolo Jones (Des Moines, Iowa) used a brilliant second run to slide into second place after being in sixth place.
BACK ON TOP
The U.S. Women's National Team won its second consecutive Four Nations Cup title on Nov. 10 in Vantaa, Finland, to headline four U.S. hockey teams that won international competitions over the weekend. The women topped rival Canada, 3-0, in the championship game to avenge an earlier loss to the Canadians. Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) notched 26 saves in the final.
BADMINTON
The U.S. Under-19 National Team played its way to a 20th -place finish at the 2012 World Junior Championship on Nov. 3 in Chiba, Japan. The tournament was highlighted for the U.S. by wins over South Africa and Sri Lanka, as the Americans improved on last year's 21st-place finish.
BOBSLED/SKELETON
Steve Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.), who won gold in the two-man bobsled, joined teammates Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) to finish second in the four-man bobsled world cup event on Nov. 10 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.) posted their best-ever finishes on Nov. 9, as they finished fourth and fifth in the men's skeleton event at the world cup event in Lake Placid, N.Y. Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) was the only U.S. woman to advance to the finals. She posted the fastest time of the day to finish in fifth place overall.
The U.S. medalled in every event at the U.S. North American Cup, which ran from Nov. 7-10 in Park City, Utah. Collecting 16 medals in all, the U.S. bobsledders won six golds, three silvers and three bronzes, while the skeleton athletes won three golds and one bronze. Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah) swept the women's skeleton races in her bid to qualify for the world cup circuit.
CYCLING
Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Jeremy Powers (Easthampton, Pa.) both swept the weekend, winning on Nov. 10 and 11 at the USGP Cyclocross-Derby City Cup in Louisville, Ky. Powers posted a weekend best time of 55:12 on Sunday, while Compton's 39:51 on Saturday proved to be the weekend's best for the women.
EQUESTRIAN
The four members of the U.S. jumping team waited out a rain delay before claiming victory at the FEI Nations Cup competition on Nov. 10 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Charlie Jacobs (Boston, Mass.) and Leap of Joy produced two faultless rounds to lead the U.S., while Quentin Judge (Wellington, Fla.) and Carotino, and Alison Robitaille (Upperville, Va.) and Cover Girl 27 each had a clean round during competition.
FENCING
Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.) and Kelley Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) returned to competition after a post-Olympic layoff to claim gold medals on Nov. 12 at the North American Cup in Virginia Beach, Va. Homer won gold in the division I men's saber while Hurley struck gold in the division I women's individual epee. A day earlier, Conor Shepard (Colleyville, Texas) scored a surprise gold in the under-20 division I men's individual epee.
FIGURE SKATING
Gracie Gold (Chicago, Ill.) continued to make a name for herself as she took silver at the Rostelecom Cup on Nov. 10 in Moscow, marking her first senior grand prix medal. Agnes Zawadzki (Des Plaines, Ill.) finished third, while Caydee Denney (Ocala, Fla.) and John Coughlin (Kansas City, Mo.) teamed up to win bronze in the pairs competition. Richard Dornbush (Corona, Calif.) was the top U.S. finisher on the men's side, placing sixth.
Douglas Razzano (Chandler, Ariz.) earned the men's silver medal at the Ice Challenge on Nov. 10 in Graz, Austria, while teammate Armin Mahbanoozadeh (Great Falls, Va.) finished third. Ice dancers Lynn Kriengkrairut (Bismarck, N.D.) and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt (Oak Park, Ill.) bested the field to win gold, after being the only team to break 50 points in the short dance.
GYMNASTICS
Cody Gesuelli (Middletown, N.J.) won the junior men's trampoline title at the 2012 Flanders Cup on Nov. 11 in Flanders, Belgium. Gesuelli also claimed a bronze in the double mini-trampoline, in addition to teaming with Joseph Kozlowski (Avondale, Pa.) to win silver in the synchronized trampoline.
HOCKEY
Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) turned away 22 shots to lead the U.S. National Under-18 Team to victory at the Four Nations Tournament on Nov. 11 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Demko and teammates beat Sweden, 3-1, to claim the top spot on the podium. The only blemish in the tournament came in a shutout loss to Switzerland on Nov. 7.
The U.S. National Under-17 Team overpowered Switzerland, 6-1, in the finals of the Four Nations Tournament to claim gold. Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y.) found the back of the net twice to lead the team over the host-nation in the title game on Nov. 11 in Monthey, Switzerland.
Vince Hinostroza (Bartlett, Ill.) received most valuable player honors as the U.S. Junior Select Team swept through the 2012 World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Playing four games from Nov. 5-11, the U.S. knocked off defending champion Canada West, 6-3, in the championship game.
The Dallas Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, to capture the Division A championship at the USA Hockey Sled Classic, presented by the NHL, which ran from Nov. 9-11 in Williamsville, N.Y. The Washington Capitals shut out the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-0, to win the Division B championship. Josh Misiewicz (La Grange Park, Ill.) led all scorers with 21 goals and nine assists in five games for the Capitals.
RUGBY
The men's team kicked off its fall European tour with a 40-26 victory over Russia on Nov. 9 in Conwy County, Wales. The U.S. scored 26 unanswered points to seal the victory.
SKIING
Seventeen-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) converted a trip to the Arctic Circle into the second Audi FIS Alpine World Cup slalom podium of her career, as she finished third in Levi, Finland, on Nov. 10. The next day, three-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom champion Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) - who was victorious in the opening world cup race at Soelden, Austria, two weeks ago - finished 13th in a foggy slalom.
SQUASH
The U.S. fell to New Zealand, 3-0, to open pool play at the 2012 Women's World Team Championships on Nov. 12 in Nimes, France.
SWIMMING
Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) returned to the pool on Nov. 9 at the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series in Minneapolis and picked up right where she left off in London. The teenager set a national age-group record, winning the 200- yard freestyle by four seconds in a time of 1:42.28. Franklin won five times over three days in Minnesota, including besting the field by 5.97 seconds in the 200 backstroke. Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) won four times in his return to the pool at the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series that spanned Nov. 9-11 in Minneapolis. Fourteen-year-old Becca Mann (St. Petersburg, Ill.) made a splash at the meet, breaking a 31-year-old age group record in the 1,650-yard medley, finishing in a time of 15:54.46.
HANDBALL
The U.S. women finished third at the IHF Trophy Tournament in Mexico City, which was held Nov. 7-10. The U.S. tied Puerto Rico, 29-29, on Nov. 7, before dropping its next two matches to Mexico and Canada, setting up a bronze-medal rematch with Puerto Rico. The U.S. won, 34-27. Meanwhile, the U.S. men went 0-4.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Suzanna Sanchez (Shreveport, La.) was the only American to reach the medal stand at the World University Championships, which were held Nov. 6-9 in Eilat, Israel. Sanchez found herself on the podium three times, winning silver in the 48 kg. overall competition, bronze in the snatch and silver in the clean & jerk, where she set a University American record of 81 kg. in her final attempt.
WRESTLING
2012 Olympian Tervel Dlangnev (Columbus, Ohio; 120 kg.) headlined a group of five U.S. athletes who won freestyle championships at the 2012 New York Athletic Club International on Nov. 10 in New York City. Austin Trotman (Boone, N.C.; 84 kg) won the Outstanding Wrestler award, while Jimmy Kennedy (Ann Arbor, Mich.; 60 kg.), Chase Pami (Colorado Springs, Colo.; 66 kg.) and Wynn Michalak (Champaign, Ill.; 96 kg.) also topped the medal stand. The women and Greco-Roman athletes took to the mat of the New York Athletic Club on Nov. 9, with seven U.S. athletes capturing gold medals. Alyssa Lampe (Colorado Springs, Colo.; 48 kg.) took home the Outstanding Wrestler award after defeating Ai Nakaya of Japan on a technical fall, 6-0, 8-0, to claim gold. Jamel Johnson (Greensboro, N.C.; 60 kg.) was the Outstanding Wrestler in the Greco-Roman competition, winning a three-period bout with Takashi Sasaki of Japan in the finals, 5-0, 1-2, 4-0.
UPCOMING CALENDAR
Date - Sport - Location - Event
11/10-17 - Roller Sports; Recife, Brazil; 2012 ladies Rink Hockey World Championships
11/11-17 - Racquetball; Los Angeles; IRF World Junior Championships
11/15-16 - Biathlon; Canmore, Canada; Early Snow Time Trial
11/15-18 - Speedskating; Calgary, Canada; Long Track Junior World Cup
11/16-17 - Bobsled & Skeleton; Park City, UT; Park City World Cup
11/16-17 - Judo; Apia, Somoa; IJF World Cup Samoa
11/16-18 - Speedskating; Heerenveen, Netherlands; Essent ISU Long Track World Cup #1
11/17 - Fencing, Bratislava, Slovakia; Junior Foil Bratislava SVK World Cup
11/17 - Fencing; Sosnowiec, Poland; Junior Women's Saber Sosnowiec POL World Cup
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