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Jen
Armbruster
Hometown: Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Birthplace: Taipai, Taiwan
Birthdate: 02/12/1975
Height: 5 8"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Education: B.A. in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice, University of Northern Colorado (1997); M.S. in criminal justice administration,
Sam Houston State University (2000)
Occupation: Project
Director for the National Sports Education Camp Project at Western
Michigan University
Marital Status: Single
Cause of Blindness: Optic Neuritis
Age lost Visibility: Lost partial sight at 13-years-old, lost total sight at 17
Vision Class: B1
Personal Brief: A star basketball player when her sight began to deteriorate, Armbruster sought for
a sport that would provide her with the same kind of competitiveness as basketball and found goalball. She is now ranked as
one of the top five players in the world. Armbruster has been featured in Olympian Magazine and in the December 1999 issue
of Sports Illustrated for Women.
Armbruster served as the captain for the U.S. Women's Goalball
Team that won the gold medal at the 2002 International Blind Sports Association World Goalball Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
The gold medal secured the team a berth at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games as well as the top ranking in the world
going into the Games.
Competition Highlights:
2003: USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal
Malmo Ladies InterCup - first place
2002: International Blind Sports Association World
Goalball Championships - gold medal
Malmo Ladies InterCup - third place, All-Tournament Leading Scorer
USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
2001: Pan American Games Goalball Tournament - gold medal
British Invitational - first place
USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal, Most Valuable Player
Malmo Ladies InterCup - third place, MVP, Conduct Award
2000: Sydney Paralympic Games - sixth place
USABA National Goalball
Championships - gold medal, MVP
British Invitational - second place
1999: British Invitational - second place
USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal, MVP
National Capital Eye's Invitational Goalball Tournament - first place
1998:
National Capital Eye's Invitational Goalball Tournament - first place
10th Annual British Blind Sports Goalball Tournament - third place
USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal
International Blind Sports Association World Championships - bronze medal
1997:
USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal, MVP
1996:
Atlanta Paralympic Games - bronze medal
Canadian Championships - first place
London Invitational - first place
USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal,
MVP
1995:
USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal, MVP
1994:
USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal, MVP
1993: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal,
MVP
1992: Competed at the Barcelona Paralympic Games
USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal
1990: USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal
Honorable Mentions and Other
Achievements:
1997:
The Womens Sport Foundation's Sports Woman of the Year Finalist
1996:
Voted Colorado Amateur Athlete of the Year
1995:
Inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame
Featured in the book Damn the
Disabilities: Full Speed Ahead by Jack Cavanaugh
Motivational speaker
Hobbies:
E-mail, movies, attending sports events, judo and rock climbing
Personal Motto:
Hometown Media:
Colorado
Springs
Gazette
Lisa Banta
Hometown: Boonton, N.J.
Birthplace: Peguaneck, N.J.
Birthdate: 5/29/79
Height: 5 4
Weight: 198
lbs.
Education: BA from
Allentown College of St. Francis De Sales
Occupation: Student
Marital Status:
Single
Cause of Blindness:
Congenital
Age lost Visibility:
Birth
Vision Class: B2
Personal Brief: Banta
became involved in sports as a way to overcome her disability and feels that her success in life can be attributed to her
parents whom always encouraged her to be involved with extracurricular activities and never stood in her way.
Competition Highlights:
2003: Malmo Ladies InterCup - first place
2002: International Blind Sports Association World Championships - gold medal, named "Top Scorer" of the Championships
2001: III IBSA Pan American Games - gold medals in goalball and discus
British Blind Sports Invitational Goalball Tournament - first place
Malmo Ladies InterCup - third place
2000:
Sydney Paralympic Games - sixth place in goalball; silver medial in
discus (AR)
British Blind Sports Invitational
Goalball Tournament - second place
Malmo Ladies InterCup - second place
Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships - first place in discus (new school record)
1999: British Blind Sports Invitational Goalball Tournament
- second place
II IBSA Pan Am Games - gold medal in javelin and silver medal in shot put and discus (AR)
1998:
IBSA World Championships - bronze medal in goalball; competed in shot
put
USABA National Track and Field Championships - gold medal in shot put
10th Annual British Blind Sports Goalball Tournament - third place
1997: USABA National Track and Field Championships
- gold medal
in discus
USABA National Goalball Championships - named All-American
1996: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
Atlanta Paralympics - first alternate for the U.S. Womens Goalball Team
Honorable Mentions and Other Achievements:
2003: Inducted into Boonton High School Hall of Fame
2002: Appeared in Sports Illustrated "Faces in the Crowd"
2001: Torchbearer for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games
Threw out the first pitch at a New Jersey Cardinals baseball game
1997: USABA All-American Goalball Team
1996: Named alternate to the U.S. Team for the Atlanta Paralympics
Hobbies: Sports, listening
to music, reading, sleeping, relaxing
Personal Motto:
Success is a journey, not a destination.
Hometown media: Daily Record, Star Leader, The Citizen
Nikki Buck
Hometown: Paw Paw,
Mich.
Birthplace: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Birthdate: 7-7-84
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Education: Graduated
from Paw Paw High School, 2003
Occupation: Full-time
athlete
Marital Status:
single
Cause of Blindness:
RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa)
Age lost Visibility:
Birth
Vision Class: B3
Personal Brief:
Nikki Buck began her goalball career at a Western Michigan University Sports Education Camp and has been active in the sport
for more than five years. Nikki has been a member of the Kalamazoo Chaos since 1999 and has participated in numerous tournaments,
both domestically and internationally. She has been a member of the U.S. Women's
Goalball Team since 2002 when she made her international debut at the Malmo Ladies InterCup.
Nikki is currently training full-time for the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and is a member of the first Paralympic
team to obtain residency at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Competition Highlights:
2004: USABA National Goalball Championships
- silver medal
Malmo Ladies InterCup - first place
Montreal Invitational - first place
2003: USABA National Goalball Championships
- gold medal
USABA Midwest Regional Goalball Championships
- first place
Malmo Ladies InterCup - first place
2002: International Blind Sports Association World Goalball Championships
- gold medal
USABA National Goalball Championships - silver medal
Helmacy Regional Goalball Championships - first place
Midwest Regional Goalball Championships - second place
2001: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
USABA National
Youth Goalball Championships - gold medal
Honorable Mentions
and Other Achievements:
2004: Northwest Regional Goalball Championships, Most Valuable Player
March Athlete of the Month, U.S. Olympic Training Center
2001: USABA National Youth Goalball Championships - MVP
Hobbies: Music,
Movies, Food, being outside, talking on the phone
Personal Motto: "Live life to its fullest."
Hometown Media: Daily Herald
Updated: 6/23/2004
Jessie Lorenz
Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.
Birthplace: Durango, Colo.
Birthdate: 11/22/1978
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 136lbs.
Education: Pursuing B.A. in
liberal studies at San Francisco State University
Occupation: Disability rights advocate, Independent Living Resource Center
Marital Status: Single
Cause of Blindness: Congenital
Glaucoma
Age lost Visibility: Birth
Vision Class: B1
Competition Highlights:
2003: Malmo
Ladies InterCup - first place
USABA National Goalball
Championships - bronze medal
2002: International Blind Sports Association World Goalball Championships - gold medal
Malmo Ladies InterCup - third place
1996: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
1994: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
1993: USABA National Goalball Championships - gold medal
Hobbies: Writing, reading, running
Personal Motto: "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."
Hometown Media: San Francisco Chronicle
Asya Miller
Hometown: Battle Creek, Mich.
Birthplace: Lapeer, Mich.
Birthdate: 10/16/79
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Education: B.A. in Criminal Justice, Western Michigan University
Occupation: Customer
Care Agent/Quality Analyst, Department of Defense
Marital Status: Single
Cause of Blindness: Hereditary
Age lost Visibility: 12
Vision Class: B3
Personal Brief: A
field athlete in high school and college, Miller discovered goalball when she went to Western Michigan University. Miller continued to compete in both sports through
2003, but is currently focusing on goalball for the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. A
talented multi-sport athlete, Miller also set four World Records in powerlifting at the International Blind Sports Association
World Championships.
Competition Highlights:
2004: Malmo Ladies InterCup – first place
USABA National Goalball Championships –
silver medal
2003: International Blind Sports Association World Championships – gold medal in powerlifting; bronze medal in discus;
4th place in shot put
USABA National Goalball Championships – gold medal
2002: International Paralympic Committee World Athletics Championships – bronze medal in discus
USABA National Goalball Championships – silver medal
2001: Pan American Games for the Blind – gold medals in javelin and goalball; silver medal in discus
USABA National Goalball Championships – gold medal
2000: Sydney Paralympic Games – bronze medal in discus; sixth place in
goalball
USABA National Goalball Championships –
silver medal
1999: Pan American Games for the Blind – gold medal in shot put, discus
and
javelin
Honorable Mentions and Other Achievements:
2001: USABA
Female Athlete of the Year
Hobbies: Karate,
biking
Hometown Media: Battle Creek Inquirer, Kalamazoo Gazette, Flint Journal, Detroit Free Press, Lapeer County Press
Updated: 6/28/2004
Robin
Theryoung
Hometown: Clarkston
Michigan
Place of Birth:
Southfield Michigan
Date of Birth:
11/11/78
Height: 5 8
Weight: 155 lbs.
Education: BA in
Religious Studies from Albion College. MA in Blind Rehabilitation Teaching from Western Michigan University. Pursuing MA in Orientation
& Mobility from WMU
Occupation: Graduate
Student
Marital Status:
Single
Cause of Blindness:
Congenital Albinism
Age Lost Visibility:
Birth
USABA Vision Class:
B3
Personal Brief:
While learning to play goalball in a living room is not recommended to young athletes
trying to pursue the game, this is the way Theryoung was introduced to goalball. Theryoung
later learned the technicalities of goalball at the Michigan Blind Athletic Association Sports Camp for visually impaired
youths. With goalball being the first team sport for the blind Theryoung had
encountered, she was automatically hooked. Within three years, she managed to
move up the ranks in goalball. 1998 marked the first year Theryoung competed
in a world championship competition.
Competition Highlights:
2004:
Malmo Women's InterCup, Malmo, Sweden, gold medal
DEFI Sportif, Montreal, Quebec Canada, gold medal
2003: Malmo
Womens InterCup, Malmo, Sweden, gold medal
USABA Goalball National Championships,
Colorado Springs, CO,
gold medal
2002: Goalball World Championships, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, gold medal
2001: Malmo
Womens InterCup, Malmo, Sweden, bronze medal
Pan American Games for the Blind, Spartanburg
South Carolina, gold medal
2000: National Capital Eyes Invitational Goalball
Tournament, Ottawa, Canada, bronze medal
1999: USABA Goalball National Championships,
Colorado Springs, CO., bronze medal.
1998: Goalball World Championships for the Blind, Madrid, Spain, bronze medal
USABA Goalball National Championships, Colorado Springs, Co., gold medal
1997: USABA Goalball National Championships, Colorado Springs Co., silver medal
1996: USABA Junior National Goalball Championships, St. Augustine
Fla., gold medal
USABA Goalball National Championships, Colorado Springs, Co., bronze medal.
Honorable Mentions
and Other Achievements:
2004: Named
to the US Women's Paralympic Goalball Team
Accepted into the US Olympic Training Center Resident Athlete
Program
2000: Named alternate to the U.S. Team for the Sydney Paralympics
1997: USABA High School All-American Award
1996: USABA Junior National Goalball Championships, Womens MVP
Community Involvement:
Theryoung volunteers each year at the Michigan Blind Athletic Association Sports Camp for
visually impaired children. She traveled to Florida with the Michigan girls goalball team as a coach in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. She also served on MBAAs board of directors in 2002 and 2003.
Hobbies: Singing, playing the guitar, writing music, reading, watching movies, sleeping and playing and watching
sports.
Personal Motto: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
-Philippians 4:13
Hometown media: Clarkston News, Oakland Press, Detroit Free Press
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