Wrestler Brad Vering places second in USOC Athlete of Month voting for April
USOC Media Relations/
U.S. Nationals Greco-Roman champion Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) placed second in the voting for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Athlete of the Month award for April.
Winning the honor in the men’s category was World Taekwondo champion Steven Lopez. His sister Diana Lopez was voted as the April Athlete of the Month after also winning a World Taekwondo gold medal. The USOC Team of the Month honor was awarded to the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
Vering won the gold medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. in men’s Greco-Roman at the 2005 U.S. National Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 29-30. It was Vering’s third straight U.S. Nationals title. In the gold-medal match, he defeated four-time U.S. Nationals champion Keith Sieracki of the U.S. Army, 1-0, 1-0, for the title. Sieracki is currently ranked No. 1 in the USA at 74 kg/163 lbs., but has also had great success up at this weight class.
Vering, the top seed, won his first two matches of the tournament by fall. In the semifinals, he defeated Brad Ahearn of the U.S. Army, 0-1, 1-0, 2-0.
Diana and Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), sister and brother, both won gold medals (featherweight and welterweight, respectively) at the World Championships in Madrid, Spain, April 13-17. Along with their brother, Mark (featherweight), the Lopez family made sports history in Madrid by taking three gold medals. Never before have three siblings won world titles at the same event in any sport. The siblings are all coached by their eldest brother, Jean. The family’s three gold medals also signified the most successful World Championships in U.S. history. The U.S. had never won more than one gold medal in a previous World Championships. For Steven, a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2000, 2004), the win was his third consecutive World Championship title (2001, 2003, 2005).
USOC ATHLETE OF THE MONTH VOTING FOR APRIL 2005
Results (first place votes in parentheses)
MEN
1. Steven Lopez, Taekwondo 40 (12)
2. Brad Vering, Wrestling 17(3)
3. Thomas Hopkins, Water Polo 12 (1)
Also receiving first place votes: Tyler Hansbrough (Basketball), Hunter Kemper (Triathlon) and Joey Mantia (Roller Sports)
WOMEN
1. Diana Lopez, Taekwondo 32 (6)
2. Krissy Wendell, Ice Hockey 30 (6)
3. Julia Mancuso, Skiing 18 (3)
Also receiving first place votes: Francesca Durand (Judo), Jessica Long (Paralympic Swimming), Aubrey Orcutt (Roller Sports) and Sally Roberts (Wrestling)
TEAM
1. U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team 53 (17)
2. U.S. Men’s Water Polo Team 26 (1)
3. U.S. Men’s Inline Hockey Team 16 (1)
Also receiving first place votes: Pete Fenson Rink (Curling) and Cassidy Krug and Nancilea Underwood (Diving)
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