Team USA came out firing, setting an American record in the women's 4x800-meter by 13 seconds at the Penn Relays, held April 24-26 in Philadelphia. The team of Lea Wallace (Napa, Calif.), Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Ajee Wilson (Neptune City, N.J.) and Alysia Montano (Canyon Country, Calif.) crossed the finish line in 8:04.31. Their opening victory set the tone for Team USA to win four of the six events in the 14th edition of USA vs. the World.
MADDEN CROWNED CHAMPION AT FEI WORLD CUP FINAL
Aboard Simon, Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) emerged as the champion of the 2013 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final, held April 25-28 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Outlasting 2012 Olympic champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland in a jump-off, her victory marked the second consecutive year an American rider has won the FEI World Cup Final. Three other Americans joined Madden in the top twelve: three-time Olympian McClain Ward (fifth; Brewster, N.Y.), 2012 Olympian Reed Kessler (10th; Lexington, K.Y.) and Karl Cook (11th; Woodside, Calif.).
ARCHERY
Michelle Gilbert (Bethesda, M.D.) earned her first-ever gold in the women's recurve event, edging out 2012 Olympian Miranda Leek (Des Moines, Iowa) with a 6-2 victory at the 2013 U.S. Archery Team Qualifier Series Event, held April 25-28 in College Station, Texas. In the compound event, Erika Jones (Grand Island, Neb.) clinched gold against Tristan Skarvan (Elk Mound, Wis.) with a 142-140 victory. On the men's side, Olympic medalist Brady Ellison (Glendale, Ariz.) narrowly defeated Jake Kaminski (Edgewater, Fla.), 6-4, to take gold in the recurve event. World No.1 Reo Wilde (Pocatello, Idaho) outdueled world No. 2 Braden Gellenthien (Woodbridge, Va.), 144-143, to clinch gold in the compound event.
CANOE/KAYAK
Kaitlyn McElroy's (Oklahoma City, Okla.) talent was on display with wins in the senior women's K1 200-meter and 500-meter finals at the 2013 U.S. Sprint National Team Trials, held April 26-27 in Oklahoma City, Okla. McElroy added a third win with Maggie Hogan (San Diego, Calif.) in the K2 500. London 2012 Olympian Tim Hornsby (Atlanta, Ga.) clinched the top spot in the senior men's K1 200, while. Chris Miller (Gainesville, Ga.) claimed first place in the K1 1,000. Miller partnered with Stanton Collins (Gainesville, Ga.) to win the K2 200 and K2 1,000. Robert Finlayson (Gainesville, Ga.) won the senior men's C1 200, while Ian Ross (Washington, D.C.) earned first place in the senior men's C1 1,000. Ross and Ben Hefner (Gainesville, Ga.) took first in the C2 1,000.
CYCLING
Alison Powers (Pinecliffe, Colo.) captured second place with a time of 6:39:59 at the 2013 Joe Martin Stage Race, held April 25-28 in Fayetteville, Ark. Fellow American Lauren Stephens (Dallas, Texas) sealed a third-place finish in 6:40:07. On the men's side, Chad Haga (Colorado Springs, Colo.) claimed first place with a time of 10:13:59, while Julian Kyer (Boulder, Colo.) placed third in 10:14:08.
EQUESTRIAN
Buck Davidson (Unionville, Pa.) and Ballynoe Castle secured first place at the USEF National CCI4* Eventing Championship, held April 26-28 in Lexington, K.Y. Davidson capped a successful weekend by placing fourth in the overall standings at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.
FENCING
2012 Olympic team bronze medalist Maya Lawrence (Teaneck, N.J.) captured a career-best 10th place at the Xuzhou Epee Grand Prix, held April 27-28 in Xuzhou, China. In the table of 32, Lawrence out-touched Russia's Alexandra Magdich, 15-14, but eventually lost to Korea's A Lam Shin, 15-7, in the table of 16.
Led by London Olympian Daryl Homer (Bronx, N.Y.), Team USA produced an eighth- place finish at the 2013 Athens Team Saber World Cup, held April 26-28 in Athens, Greece. With Homer's 5-2 victory over Andriy Yagodka, the U.S. defeated Ukraine in its opening bout, 45-37. Team USA lost its seventh place match to Korea, 45-39. In the men's individual saber event, Homer defeated Romania's Cirprian Galatanu, 15-11, in the table of 64 and lost his next bout to Italy's Marco Ciari, 15-8, to produce the top result for Team USA.
2012 Olympian Miles Chamley-Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) placed seventh overall at the Seoul Individual Foil World Cup, held April 27-28 in Seoul, South Korea. Chamley-Watson defeated fellow American Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif.), 15-13, in the table of 32, followed by a loss to China's Hua Li, 15-11, in the quarterfinals.
GYMNASTICS
Paul Ruggeri (Manlius, N.Y.) won gold in both the vault and horizontal bar at the 2013 Ljubljana World Cup, held April 26-28 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Alex Naddour (Gilbert, Ariz.) hauled in three medals, including a silver (floor) and two bronzes (pommel, rings).
ICE HOCKEY
The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team captured silver at the 2013 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship, held April 14-28 in Sochi, Russia. In a thrilling semifinal round, the U.S. toppled Russia, 4-3, in a shootout to advance to the final. Team USA lost to Canada, 3-2, in the gold-medal game despite goals from Connor Clifton (Matawan, N.J.) and Michael McCarron (Macomb, Mich.). It marked the 10th consecutive year Team USA earned a medal in the event.
JUDO
Paralympians Josh Farra (Coatsville, Pa.) and Ron Hawthorne (Colorado Springs, Colo.) brought home a silver and a bronze medal from the 2013 International Grand Prix Infraero Judo, held April 26-28 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Farra claimed silver in the 66 kg. pool, while Hawthorne earned bronze in the 60 kg. class after losing his opening match to the eventual champion.
KARATE
Team USA took home five gold medals and 18 total medals at the 2013 North American Cup, held April 26-28 in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Jasmine Nguyen (Fullerton, Calif.) led the women with a gold and two silver medals, while Joseph Martinez (Pueblo West, Colo.) secured two gold medals on the men's side.
ROWING
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Eleanor Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) dominated the field in 7:39:96 to claim first place in the women's single sculls event at the 2013 National Selection Regatta #1, held April 24-27 in Princeton, N.J. Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.) crossed the finish line in 8:02:90 to win the women's lightweight sculls. On the men's side, John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) narrowly won the men's single sculls in a time of 7:05:67. In the men's pair final, Seth Weil (Menlo Park, Calif.) and London bronze medalist Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) won in a time of 6:36:11.
SAILING
Sailing duo Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wis.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) captured fourth place in the women's 470 class at the 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup, held April 20-27 in Hyeres, France. Kristen Lane (Tiburon, Calif.) and Christine Neville (Oakland, Calif.) were the top U.S. finishers in the 49er FX, garnering 15th place. Other top-20 finishers included Farah Hall (Annapolis, M.D.), who was 16th in the women's RS:X, and Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.), who was 16th in the men's Finn competition.
SOCCER
The U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team routed Mexico, 3-0, in its opening match of the 4-Nations International Tournament, held April 24-28 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mallory Pugh (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), and Kaycie Tillman (Rowlett, Texas) notched goals within the first 12 minutes of the match before Madison Haley (Dallas, Texas) scored in the 80th minute to cement the win.
SQUASH
Top-seeded Julian Illingworth (New York, N.Y.) advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over Pakistan's Shahjahah Kahn at the 2013 Houston Open, held April 25-28 in Houston, Texas. In the opening round, Illingworth dispatched Kahn, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7. Looking for a spot in the semifinals, Illingworth conceded his quarterfinal match against England's Lewis Walters due to illness.
TRACK & FIELD
Team USA defeated Britain by 0.02 of a second to claim the women's 4x400-meter at the Penn Relays, held April 24-26 in Philadelphia. Jessica Beard (Euclid, Ohio), Natasha Hastings (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Dee Dee Trotter (Cedar Grove, Ga.) and Francena McCorory (Hampton, Va.) finished in 3:22.66. The U.S. team of Torrin Lawrence (Jacksonville, Fla.), Manteo Mitchell (Shelby, N.C.), Bershawn Jackson (Miami, Fla.) and Tony McQuay (Suncoast, Fla.) raced to first place in the men's 4x400, while Mike Rodgers (St. Louis, Mo.), Justin Gatlin (Woodham, Fla.), Darvis Patton (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Ryan Bailey (Salem, Ore.) won the 4x1,000.
Meanwhile, Team USA shined as three Americans set world bests among competition that featured 25 Olympic medalists at the Drake Relays, held in Des Moines, Iowa. Queen Harrison (Richmond, Va.) earned first place in the women's 100- meter in 12.71 to beat 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper (East St. Louis, Ill.). Olympic bronze medalist Reese Hoffa (Augusta, Ga.) launched the world's longest shot put at a distance of 21.71 meters/71-2.75 ft. to capture first place in the event, while 2012 Olympic gold medalist Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) set the men's triple jump record at 17.11/56-2.
VOLLEYBALL
Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Calif.) garnered their first tournament gold at the 2013 Fuzhou Open, held April 23-28 in Fuzhou, China. The U.S. team dispatched Italy's Daniele Lupo and Nicolai Paolo, 21-18, 24-22 in the final. En route to their gold-medal effort, the pair overcame three-time Olympian Ricardo Alex Costa Santos and Alvaro Morais Filho of Brazil, 12-21, 26-24, 20-18 in the semifinals. On the women's side, April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) tied for fifth place.
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