Team USA: USA Women’s Sevens & Ilona Maher Finalists

U.S. Olympic Committee announces Best of October finalists for Team USA Awards presented by Dow

USA Rugby Release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of October, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awardsthrough midnight Tuesday, Nov. 6.

A total of 10 sports – including archery, beach volleyball, figure skating, rugby sevens, surfing, taekwondo, tennis, track and field, weightlifting and wrestling – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories. The finalists’ collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round.

In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods and USG.

OCTOBER FINALISTS

Male Athlete of the Month
Nathan Chen (Salt Lake City, Utah), Figure Skating

Won his second straight Skate America title with 280.57 points, landing three quad jumps in his nearly perfect free skate to top the field by 41.06 points – the largest margin in Skate America history.

Trenton Cowles (Tarzana, California), Archery

Went undefeated to earn the gold medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where he also captured the bronze medal in the mixed country team event.

Bjorn Fratangelo (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Tennis

Captured his first pro singles title in more than two years at the ATP Challenger event in Fairfield, California.

Jerome Smith (St. Louis, Missouri), Weightlifting

Placed fourth in the 69 kg. weight class at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, marking the best finish by a U.S. men’s weightlifter in the event’s history.

David Taylor (State College, Pennsylvania), Wrestling

Won the men’s freestyle gold medal at 86 kg. at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, besting an Olympic champion in the first of his five matches on the way to the title.

Female Athlete of the Month
Courtney Conlogue (Santa Ana, California), Surfing

Won her second World Surf League title in as many months at the Roxy Pro France, outscoring her opponent in the final by nearly four points to continue her strong comeback after missing the first half of the season due to a foot injury.

Adeline Gray (Denver Colorado), Wrestling

Captured the women’s gold medal at 76 kg. at the World Wrestling Championships, marking her fourth career world gold medal and tying for the most by an American wrestler – male or female.

Ilona Maher (Burlington, Vermont), Rugby Sevens

Scored seven tries – including a hat-trick – at the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens in Glendale, Colorado, making her the second highest try scorer of the tournament and leading Team USA to the silver medal.

Grace Stark (White Lake, Michigan), Track and Field

Won the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, earning the distinction as Team USA’s flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony.

Anastasija Zolotic (Largo, Florida), Taekwondo

Secured the silver medal in the 49 kg. division at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, while competing with a broken hand that she sustained in her quarterfinal match.

The team of the Month
April Ross and Alix Klineman, Beach Volleyball

Won gold medals and garnered points toward 2020 Olympic qualification at the NORCECA Beach Tour Final and the FIVB World Tour four-star event with final wins over teams from Canada and Brazil.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Figure Skating

Earned back-to-back Grand Prix gold medals in ice dance at Skate America and Skate Canada International, earning their fourth straight Grand Prix Final berth and continuing their medal streak at 11 consecutive Grand Prix Series events.

USA Women’s Eagles Sevens, Rugby Sevens

Won the silver medal at the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens tournament in Glendale, Colorado, including a victory over the 2016 Olympic champion, Australia.

SELECTION PROCESS
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sports discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via Awards.TeamUSA.org.