U.S. Youth National Team Chosen

Nearly 300 young climbers competed in the U.S. Youth National Championships, July 9-11 at the Pipeworks gym in Sacramento, California. This comp finalized selection of the U.S. National Team, whose 14- to 19-year-old members are automatically invited to represent the U.S. at the World Youth Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September. In some age categories, it took super-finals and even super-super-finals to make the cuts among evenly matched climbers. The highest placed finalists in Sacramento did not automatically make the U.S. team, however, because the competitors’ scores from the qualifying and semifinal rounds also counted, and some non-U.S. citizens did well but were not eligible for the team. For instance, Vasya Vorotnikov, a Russian living in New Hampshire, won the boys’ 16-17 category, and his sister Nadya placed third among girls 14-15. The 2004 U.S. Youth National Team members are: Boys 18-19 1. Zeb Engberg 2. Alex Honnold 3. Zach Levitt 4. Danny Sing Boys 16-17 1. Paul Wallace 2. Patrick Luther 3. Zach Lerner 4. Chris Sinatra Boys 14-15 1. Daniel Woods 2. Jon Cardwell 3. Andrew Rothner 4. Simon Benkert Boys 12-13 1. Matt Fultz 2. Brian Anthenisse 3. Benjamin Hoberg 4. Michael Arthur Boys 11 and Under 1. Joshua Levin 2. Julian Bautista 3. Michael Beyer 4. Andy Lamb Girls 18-19 1. Alice Braginsky 2. Sydney McNair 3. Jessa Goebel 4. Katelyn Dukatz Girls 16-17 1. Kasia Pietras 2. Stephanie Outland 3. Victoria Guido 4. Sasha Turrentine Girls 14-15 1. Autumn Duke 2. Elizabeth Broun 3. Meagan Martin 4. Alex Johnson Girls 12-13 1. Marah Bragdon 2. Tiffany Hensley 3. Sasha Digiulian 4. Kate Carr Girls 11 and Under 1. Cicada Jenerik 2. Francesca Metcalf 3. Alyse Dietel 4. Laurel Shimamura -end-