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Western Michigan University Wrecking Crew and Kalamazoo Chaos Win Goalball Nationals
By Nicole Jomantas // U.S. Association of Blind Athletes // June 26, 2005
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The city of Kalamazoo, Mich. is home to two national championship teams as the Western Michigan University Wrecking Crew (men) and the Kalamazoo Chaos (women) claimed titles Saturday at the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes National Goalball Championships.
After going undefeated in the round robin, the Kalamazoo Chaos faced the Colorado Bandits in the gold medal match: their sixth such matchup in as many years with the Bandits winning last year’s title in a shootout.
It seemed that the shootout tradition might have to take a sabbatical this year as the Chaos’ Asya Miller (Battle Creek, Mich.) scored the first goal of the game with one minute, 49 seconds remaining in the first half when the Bandits’ Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.) responded with a goal of her own mid-way through the second half, tying the game at 1-1.
Both teams were held scoreless in each of two overtime periods, sending them into a shootout during which each of the teams’ four players faced off in a one-on-one shot on goal.
The first duo featured Athens Paralympic silver medalist Nikki Buck (Paw Paw, Mich.) against her Athens teammate Armbruster, herself a four-time Paralympian. Both Armbruster and Buck blocked each others shots and the score remained tied.
Next up was another Athens team matchup – this time two-time Paralympian Miller faced off against the Bandits’ Robin Theryoung (Clarkston, Mich.) Both athletes managed to score on each other, bringing the score to 2-2.
The third pairing consisted of 2005 World Youth Championships Team member Kristin Millerov (Caro, Mich.) against WYC team alternate Jordan Walters (USAFA, Colo.) Again, the result was the same for Millerov and Walters as both threw their shots out of bounds.
The game came down to Chaos’ Susie D’Mello (Troy, Mich.) and the Bandits’ Victoria Guin (Colorado Springs, Colo.) D’Mello hit her first shot into the goal and then successfully defended against Guin’s shot, securing the win for the Chaos, 3-2.
Saturday’s national championship marks the third for the Chaos since 2000.
On the men’s side, the fifth-seeded WMU Wrecking Crew began the medal wins with a nearly flawless 4-1 upset over the four-time national champion Pennsylvania Association of Blind Athletes Venom. The Crew then faced off against the 2004 National Champion New Jersey Thunder with the Crew claiming the gold for the first time this decade, Thunder, 3-0.
After going undefeated in pool play, the Thunder played well defensively, allowing only one goal from John Kusku (Warren, Mich.) in the first 18 minutes of the game before Athens Paralympic bronze medalist Tyler Merren (Kalamazoo, Mich.) scored two goals in the final two minutes of the game.
In bronze medal action, the women’s Illinois Tsunami were down 2-1 against the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind at the end of the first half when Paralympic alternate and WYC Team member Jackie Barnes (Vernon Hills, Ill.) scored a buzzer beater to tie the game at two. After exchanging goals in the second half, the Tsunami pulled ahead with two minutes remaining to win their second consecutive bronze medal, 4-3.
Meanwhile the PABA Venom entered their bronze medal match looking secure their sixth national championship medal since 1999. Two-time Paralympian John Mulhern (Lebanon, Pa.) scored the first goal of the game 30 seconds into the match and continued to dominate over Northeast Florida, including two goals on high ball penalties and a third on a 10 second penalty, as the Venom went on to win the bronze, 8-4.
Goalball is a Paralympic sport played by blind and visually impaired persons both in the United States and around the world in which three athletes on each of two teams aim to launch a ball at speeds of up to 40 mph into the opposing side's goal. Nine bells located in a ball roughly the dimensions of a basketball help the athletes track the ball's location.
Detailed roster and results are as follows:
Men’s Results
1. Western Michigan University Wrecking Crew: Tyler Merren (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Stephen Denuyl (Clinton, N.J.), Gerardo Ortiz (Holland, Mich.), and John Kusku (Warren, Mich.)
2. New Jersey Thunder: Dan Gallant (Howell, N.J.), Daniel Palmadessa (Claster, N.J.), Omar Atin (Elizabeth, N.J.), and Norberto Vega (Jersey City, N.J.)
3. PABA Venom: John Mulhern (Lebanon, Pa.), Daryl Green (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Andre Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.)
4. Northeast Florida: Eddie Munro (St. Augustine, Fla.), Daryl Walker (Jacksonville, Fla.), Donte Mickens (Tallahassee, Fla.), Chris Dixon (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Jim Sanchez (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Gold Medal Game
WMU Wrecking Crew def. New Jersey Thunder, 3-1
Bronze Medal Game
PABA Venom def. Northeast Florida, 8-4
Semi-Finals
WMU Wrecking Crew def. PABA Venom, 4-1
New Jersey Thunder def. Northeast Florida, 3-2
Cross Pool Play
PABA Venom def. Utah Explosion, 2-1
New Jersey Thunder def. Michigan Spitfire, 9-4
Northeast Florida def. New York Knights, 11-1 (mercy rule)
WMU Wrecking Crew def. FSDB, 9-6
Also Competed:
Northwest Association of Blind Athletes Lightning
Illinois Tsunami
Bay Area Outreach Program
Women’s Results
1. Kalamazoo Chaos: Asya Miller (Battle Creek, Mich.), Nikki Buck (Paw Paw, Mich.), Susie D’Mello (Troy), and Kristin Millerov (Caro, Mich.)
2. Colorado Bandits: Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Robin Theryoung (Clarkston, Mich.), Jordan Walters (U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.) and Victoria Guin (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
3. Illinois Tsunami: Jackie Barnes (Vernon Hills, Ill.), Lindsay Sloan (Wauconda, Ill.), Katie Healy (Mundelein, Ill.) and Joni Owen (Des Plaines, Ill.)
4. FSDB: Jocelyn Brannon, Charity Ryder, Stacie Jenkins and Crystal Fitzgibbons (all St. Augustine, Fla.)
Gold Medal Game
Kalamazoo Chaos def. Colorado Bandits, 3-2 (OT shootout)
Bronze Medal Game
Illinois Tsunami def. FSDB, 4-3
Also Competed:
New Jersey
Bay Area Outreach Program
Utah
For more information, please contact Nicole Jomantas, at (719) 630-0422, ext. 10 or njomantas@usaba.org
USABA, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, the world's second largest athletic competition that draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes.
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