Vote for J’Den Cox and Helen Maroulis for USOC Best of April Olympic Athletes of the Month
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
U.S. Olympic wrestlers J’Den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) and Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md.) have been named as finalists for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Best of April Awards as the Male and Female Olympic Athletes of the Month respectively.
Vote for J’Den Cox and Helen Maroulis in the link below:
http://awards.teamusa.org/
Vote now, vote often and share with your friends and colleagues.
Voting ends on Monday May 9.
J’Den Cox, a junior at the University of Missouri, won two major events in April to earn himself a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be his first Olympic Team berth.
On April 10, Cox won the 86 kg weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, held in Iowa City, Iowa. He was seeded No. 9 in the Challenge Tournament. He opened with a 7-7 criteria win over Clayton Foster. In the next bout, he beat 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert 8-1. He next defeated 2013 World Team member Keith Gavin, 3-1. In the finals series, he beat four-time NCAA champion and World Team Trials runner-up Kyle Dake. In the first match, Cox won 8-1. In the second match, Dake won 5-3. In the final match, Cox won an exciting 5-3 decision.
Cox’s weight class (86 kg) had not yet been qualified for the Olympic Games, so he had to go to another international event to get the USA qualified to compete there.
On April 23, Cox won a gold medal at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The victory qualified the USA for the Olympic Games at 86 kg, and since Cox won the Olympic Trials, he will be the U.S. Olympian at the weight class. It was his first international competition ever representing Team USA. To qualify, he had to place in the top three at his weight.
Cox won five matches against top international stars. He opened with technical falls over Shami Atyan of Armenia, 11-0 and Timofei Xenidis of Greece, 10-0. In the quarterfinals, he stopped Zbigniew Baranowski of Poland, 4-1. In the semifinals, he beat Umidjon Ismanov of Uzbekistan, 5-2. To capture the gold, he stopped Pedro Ceballos Fuentes of Venezuela, 6-0.
The other finalists for Best of April Male Olympic Athlete of the Month are Michael Brannigan (Paralympic track and field), Kanak Jha (table tennis), Paul Kroll (boxing) and John Orozco (gymnastics).
Helen Maroulis won two major events in April to earn herself a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was dominant in every match she wrestled in April. It will be her first Olympic Team berth.
On April 10, Maroulis won the 53 kg weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, held in Iowa City, Iowa. She won all five of her matches by technical fall. In the Challenge Tournament, Maroulis won three matches, stopping Christina Powell, 10-0, Sharon Jacobson, 13-2 and Katherine Fulp-Allen, 10-0. In the finals series, she beat three-time U.S. World Team member Whitney Conder, 10-0 in match one and 11-0 in match two.
Maroulis’ weight class (53 kg) had not yet been qualified for the Olympic Games, so she had to go to another international event to get the USA qualified to compete there.
On April 23, Maroulis won a gold medal at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The victory qualified the USA for the Olympic Games at 53 kg, and since Maroulis won the Olympic Trials, he will be the U.S. Olympian at the weight class. To qualify, she had to place in the top two of her weight class.
Maroulis opened with an 8-2 win over Alma Jane Valencia of Mexico. She followed with a 10-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals over Kumari Babita of India, then pinned Lilya Horishna of Ukraine in the semifinals in 28 seconds. In the finals, she stopped Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in a 10-0 technical fall.
Maroulis is a 2015 World champion and three-time World medalist.
The other finalists for Best of April Female Olympic Athlete of the Month are Gwen Jorgensen (triathlon), Hilary Knight (ice hockey), Tatyana McFadden (Paralympic track and field) and Ashley Wagner (figure skating).
When voting for Cox and Maroulis, you may also vote for the USOC Team of the Month.
Vote for J’Den Cox and Helen Maroulis in the link below:
http://awards.teamusa.org/
Vote now, vote often and share with your friends and colleagues.
Voting ends on Monday May 9.
J’Den Cox, a junior at the University of Missouri, won two major events in April to earn himself a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will be his first Olympic Team berth.
On April 10, Cox won the 86 kg weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, held in Iowa City, Iowa. He was seeded No. 9 in the Challenge Tournament. He opened with a 7-7 criteria win over Clayton Foster. In the next bout, he beat 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert 8-1. He next defeated 2013 World Team member Keith Gavin, 3-1. In the finals series, he beat four-time NCAA champion and World Team Trials runner-up Kyle Dake. In the first match, Cox won 8-1. In the second match, Dake won 5-3. In the final match, Cox won an exciting 5-3 decision.
Cox’s weight class (86 kg) had not yet been qualified for the Olympic Games, so he had to go to another international event to get the USA qualified to compete there.
On April 23, Cox won a gold medal at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The victory qualified the USA for the Olympic Games at 86 kg, and since Cox won the Olympic Trials, he will be the U.S. Olympian at the weight class. It was his first international competition ever representing Team USA. To qualify, he had to place in the top three at his weight.
Cox won five matches against top international stars. He opened with technical falls over Shami Atyan of Armenia, 11-0 and Timofei Xenidis of Greece, 10-0. In the quarterfinals, he stopped Zbigniew Baranowski of Poland, 4-1. In the semifinals, he beat Umidjon Ismanov of Uzbekistan, 5-2. To capture the gold, he stopped Pedro Ceballos Fuentes of Venezuela, 6-0.
The other finalists for Best of April Male Olympic Athlete of the Month are Michael Brannigan (Paralympic track and field), Kanak Jha (table tennis), Paul Kroll (boxing) and John Orozco (gymnastics).
Helen Maroulis won two major events in April to earn herself a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was dominant in every match she wrestled in April. It will be her first Olympic Team berth.
On April 10, Maroulis won the 53 kg weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, held in Iowa City, Iowa. She won all five of her matches by technical fall. In the Challenge Tournament, Maroulis won three matches, stopping Christina Powell, 10-0, Sharon Jacobson, 13-2 and Katherine Fulp-Allen, 10-0. In the finals series, she beat three-time U.S. World Team member Whitney Conder, 10-0 in match one and 11-0 in match two.
Maroulis’ weight class (53 kg) had not yet been qualified for the Olympic Games, so she had to go to another international event to get the USA qualified to compete there.
On April 23, Maroulis won a gold medal at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The victory qualified the USA for the Olympic Games at 53 kg, and since Maroulis won the Olympic Trials, he will be the U.S. Olympian at the weight class. To qualify, she had to place in the top two of her weight class.
Maroulis opened with an 8-2 win over Alma Jane Valencia of Mexico. She followed with a 10-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals over Kumari Babita of India, then pinned Lilya Horishna of Ukraine in the semifinals in 28 seconds. In the finals, she stopped Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in a 10-0 technical fall.
Maroulis is a 2015 World champion and three-time World medalist.
The other finalists for Best of April Female Olympic Athlete of the Month are Gwen Jorgensen (triathlon), Hilary Knight (ice hockey), Tatyana McFadden (Paralympic track and field) and Ashley Wagner (figure skating).
When voting for Cox and Maroulis, you may also vote for the USOC Team of the Month.
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