Contributed by: mike moran on 3/19/2007
2007 State Games of America Athlete Registrations Flow In Fast
Athletes from 33 states have already signed on to compete in the 2007 State Games of America, August 2-5 in Colorado Springs. The event anticipates some 10,000 participants in the 29-sport program. A record 9,462 athletes from 46 states were on hand for the 2005 event in Colorado Springs.
Texas leads the way in the early registrations, followed by Colorado, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kansas, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Missouri. So far, track & field, figure skating, swimming, basketball, soccer and martial arts are drawing the most traffic in terms of online registrations.
Early entries for the Track & Field events at the Air Force Academy:
q Cody Mitzel (16) of Wrightsville, PA, won the bronze medal in the high jump at the 2006 Keystone State Games and the gold medal at the 2005 event for Pennsylvania athletes.
q James Koch (72) of Santa Fe, NM, won the 2005 World Masters shotput gold medal and was ranked 2 nd in the World in 2006 in his age group.
q Carl Silverlock (17) of South Riding, VA, won a gold, silver and bronze medal in the 2005 Virginia Commonwealth Games in the 110-meter hurdles, 100 meters and 200 meters. He's also a football standout at Freedom High Schhol.
q Larry Staton (58) of Wichita, won the 100, 200 and 400 meters at the 2006 Sunflower State Games.
An early peek at the Gymnastics field includes:
q Ashley Lane (10) of Jacksboro, TX, who won the gold medal in the All-Around field at the 2007 Winter Games of Texas and was 7 th in the track & field shotput at the 2006 Summer Games of Texas.
q Devon Fichter (15) of Gillette, WY, won the gold medal in All-Around events at the 2006 Cowboy State Games.
q Kalie Andriulaitis (13) of Terryville, CT, won the gold medal in All-Around at the 2005 Nutmeg Games.
And the popular Figure Skating field for the Colorado Springs World Arena includes:
q Abigail Alexiades (10) of Kingston, MA, the winner of the gold medal in her event at the 2007 Bay State Games.
q Jessica Imbro (20) of Ansonia, CT, has won medals at five State Games of America competitions, and nine medals in Nutmeg State Games competition. She was the 2006 State Games of Connecticut Athlete of the Year.
q Matej Silecky (13) of Verona, NJ, won three gold medals at the 2005 State Games of America in Colorado Springs.
Swimmers who will compete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center's state-of-the-art pool:
q Clute Armstrong (14) of Cody, TX, who holds state records in three events, and was the TAAF Athlete of the Year in Swimming.
q Sean Ponce (15), of Corpus Christi, TX, won a gold in the breaststroke at the 2006 TAAF Winter Games and golds in the 2007 TAAF Winter Games in three events.
q Brittni Walters (13) of Coraopolis, PA, was the 2006 Keystone State Games gold medalist in the 200 Freestyle.
Eligible athletes can go to: www.stategames.org, then click on the State Games of America logo for complete registration information, lodging and accommodations information, ticket details and much more.
The Opening Ceremony is set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, at the Colorado Springs World Arena. Major sport venues include the United States Air Force Academy, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Fort Carson, and The Colorado College.
In order to qualify for the State Games of America, participants must have won a gold, silver or bronze medal in a SGA sport in their local State Games in a qualifying year (2005 or 2006 Summer, 2006 or 2007 Winter), won a medal in the 2005 State Games of America or be residents of Colorado for at least 30 days prior to competition. College students, U.S. military personnel and their families who are stationed in Colorado, are also eligible to participate.
2007 State Games of America Sponsors
Opening Ceremony Sponsor: Cingular, now a part of the New at&t
Gold Sponsors: El Pomar Foundation, The Gazette, Altitude Sports & Entertainment, American National Bank, King Soopers, Experience Colorado Springs, Colorado Office of Economic Development, The Daniels Fund, The Denver Post, News First 5/30
Silver Sponsors: Booz Allen Hamilton, Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado High School Activities Association, Coca-Cola, Fort Carson, Memorial Hospital, Premier Orthopedics, U.S. Air Force Academy, United States Olympic Committee, USOC Community Partner Program, The Wright Group, Colorado Springs World Arena Youth & Community Fund
Bronze Sponsors: The City of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Utilities, Colorado Springs Marriott, CUKJATI Marketing Intelligence/Creative, The Denver Broncos, Famous Dave's, Fittje Brothers, KILO 94.3, The Eagle 103.9, The Pueblo Chieftain, Sinton Dairy, Standard Sales Company, USAA