(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – After an intensive training camp at the Olympic Training Center, twelve of the nation’s top female boxers will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina for the 2006 Pan American Tournament, May 30-June 8. The event will provide strong international competition for the women’s team and serve as the first international event for five of the women representing the United States..
The 2006 Pan American Championships is a precursor to the 2006 Women’s World Championships, November 19-25 in New Dehli, India. The 2006 Pan American Team took advantage of a unique opportunity to train at the Olympic Training Center prior to departing for Argentina. The team members enjoyed tremendous support from the Olympic Training Center including nutrition, strength and conditioning, plyometrics, sports psychology, and sports science.
Four-time national champion Cheryl Houlihan (Norton, Mass.) will look to duplicate the gold medal she won at the 2005 Continental Championships in Buenos Aires while both light bantamweight Sacred Downing (Trenton, N.J.) and light welterweight Elizabeth Quevedo (Commerce, Calif.) hope to add on to the bronze medals they grabbed in Argentina in 2005.
Pinweight Colleen Loo (Mililani, Hawaii); featherweight Ronica Jeffery (Brooklyn, N.Y.); welterweight Lisa Kuronya (Portland, Maine); light middleweight Akima Stocks (S. Orange, N.J.) and light heavyweight Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will all compete in their first major international competition.
2005 World Championships Team Members Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) and Tameka Stephens (Charlotte, N.C.) will shoot for their first international medals after winning two straight national championships. 2006 national champions and boxing veterans Emily Klinefelter (Iowa City, Iowa) and Caroline Barry (Nashville, Tenn.) hope to ride their boxing backgrounds to hardware in Argentina as well.
Coaches Willy Price (Peshtigo, Wis.) and Christy Halbert (Nashville, Tenn.) will join USA Boxing National Coaching Director Dan Campbell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in leading the team in Argentina. Former national champion and current USA Boxing Board of Directors member Krysti Rosario (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) will serve as Team Manager for the event.
Due to a schedule change by the host federation, the team will return home for a week before departing for Buenos Aires on May 29.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).