Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 1, 2018) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States and member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is excited to announce the athletes who will represent the U.S. this summer on the Under 20 Men’s National Team at the World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC).
“Andy, Russell and I are very excited to invite these 24 individuals onto Team U.S.A.,” said Reid Koss, men’s team head coach. “Each athlete competed through a long, difficult tryout weekend and proved that they are not just some of the best players this country has to offer, but also players who showed strong character and a willingness to embrace the values it takes to make this collection of talent become the best team possible.”
The 48 athletes named to the two 2018 Under-20 U.S. National Team rosters – men’s and women’s – are some of the world’s best youth ultimate players. The final rosters were selected after two weekends of tryouts that included more than 200 athletes, who were selected from a pool of nearly 400 initial applicants.
WJUC 2018, which represents the 18th edition of the tournament, is expected to host 37 teams and approximately 1,000 athletes from 19 countries. WJUC was first held as a division of the World Ultimate and Guts Championship, beginning with the inaugural event in 1983. WJUC has since become its own event which takes place every two years.
The United States first competed at the World Junior Ultimate Championships in 1988. Since that time, U.S. teams have earned 21 WJUC medals: 10 gold, five silver and six bronze.
WJUC 2018 is set to be held August 19-25 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and will be hosted by the World Flying Disc Federation and a tournament organizing committee led by Andrew Portwine of Ultimate Canada and Ontario Ultimate.
2018 World Junior Ultimate Championships
U.S. National Team
Men’s Division
Head Coach: Reid Koss
Assistant Coaches: Andy Neilsen, Russell Wallack
Roster:
Orion Cable – Amherst, MA – Amherst Regional High School
Connor Chin – New York, NY – Bard High School Early College
Drew Di Francesco – Atlanta, GA – Grady High School
Ryan Dinger – Burlington, VT – Amherst Regional High School
Leo Gordon – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley High School
Sam Hammar – Edina, MN – Edina High School
Henry Ing – Bryn Mawr, PA – Radnor High School
Adam Jemal – Bellevue, WA – Seattle Waldorf
Joey Kennedy – Naperville, IL – Neuqua Valley
Trevor Lynch – Collegeville, PA – Methacton High School
Jonny Malks – Arlington, VA – Yorktown High School
John McDonnell – Chapel Hill, NC – East Chapel Hill High School
Elliott Moore – Austin, TX – Austin High School
Benjamin Preiss – Arlington, VA – Yorktown High School
June Tabasan Rapisura – Seattle, WA – Franklin High School
Connor Ryan – Seattle, WA – Roosevelt High School
Ted Schewe – Madison, WI – James Madison Memorial High School
Caleb Seamon – Leverett, MA – Amherst Regional High School
Kodi Smart – Olympia, WA – Tumwater High School
Leonide Sovell-Fernandez – St. Paul, MN – Great River School
Jake Taylor- Chapel Hill, NC – Carolina Friends School
Jake Thorne – Alameda, CA – Alameda Community Learning Center
Tony Venneri – Seattle, WA – Nathan Hale High School
Dylan Villeneuve – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley High School
