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

            10^th 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

Asya Miller

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