TORONTO (July 24, 2015) -- Soldier-athletes from the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, or WCAP, won two gold, one silver and five bronze medals as members of Team USA at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
The games ended Sunday after 17 days of competition between nearly 7,000 athletes representing all 41 nations of the Pan American Sports Organization, which includes the Caribbean, Latin America, North America and South America. The games featured 39 sports, including all 28 sports on the Olympic program. Team USA topped the medal chart in every category, leading all nations with 265 medals, including 103 gold, 81 silver and 81 bronze medals.
The Army also sent two coaches to the games. WCAP boxing coach Staff Sgt. Joseph Guzman helped lead Team USA boxers to five medals in the ring, and WCAP wrestling coach Shon Lewis, a retired staff sergeant and former All-Army and WCAP wrestler, helped lead Team USA to its best Greco-Roman performance at the Pan American Games in 30 years.
On the wrestling mat, three Soldiers led by Lewis won medals. Capt. Jon Anderson struck gold and two-time Olympian Sgt. Spenser Mango secured bronze to help Team USA win the Greco-Roman team title for the first time since 1985. WCAP Sgt. Whitney Conder won another gold medal in women's freestyle wrestling. Sgt. Caylor Williams did not receive a medal but gained invaluable experience for the upcoming world championships.
Anderson and Conder each took a victory lap around the mat clutching a U.S. flag after their wins.
"That was cool," Anderson said. "Ever since I was a little kid starting to wrestle, I saw videos and pictures of guys doing that. I waited for my day, and today was the first."
"We came here to win medals and we were able to do that, so I'm just excited for the entire team," Lewis said. "As we head to Las Vegas for the World Championships, this is an upbeat. We still have a lot of work to do, but I'm encouraged with how we performed."
In men's Modern Pentathlon - a sport that includes fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, cross-country running and laser pistol shooting all in one day - Spc. Nathan Schrimsher earned a berth in the 2016 Olympic Games with a bronze-medal performance.
"The whole goal today was for one of us to get an Olympic quota spot, so mission accomplished," said Sgt. Dennis Bowsher, who finished 10th in the event.
"Next is for either myself or [WCAP Spc.] Logan Storie to get another spot off world-ranking points over the next year," Bowsher said. "All three of us definitely are going to push each other, that way we can get one more, along with Schrimsher, on the [U.S. Olympic] team."
1st Lt. William Holder and 1st Lt. Uiki Leatigaga helped Team USA secure the bronze medal in men's sevens rugby, and on the track Spc. Aron Rono won a silver medal and Spc. Shadrack Kipchirchir finished fourth in the men's 10,000-meter run.
"I exceeded my expectations here today," Rono said. "I thought I was going to be in the mix, but I kind of surprised myself, given that I trained through it. I didn't really taper that much. Army strong - just keep pushing."
Kipchirchir, 26, a native of Kenya, who attended Oklahoma State University, vowed to bring home more medals for the Army in the future.
"I love being able to represent the Army and the USA, and this is just the beginning," he said.
In shooting, WCAP Spc. Bryant Wallizer won a bronze medal in the 10-meter air rifle event. Sgt. Nickolaus Mowrer finished fifth in 50-meter free pistol and ninth in 10-meter air pistol.
Lt. Gen. Daniel Mitchell, of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, headquarters over the World Class Athlete Program, was impressed by the caliber of the Soldier-athletes participating in the games.
"When you look at them, they look like normal Soldiers, normal people," Mitchell said. "But then when you start talking to them… it's just hard to believe how elite they are.
"I'm thinking of how hard it was even in high school when you think you're a pretty good athlete, just to make all-conference, let alone all-state or all-American," Mitchell said. "And these guys are all that way - they're so dominant in their sports and such great athletes.
"They're important ambassadors for the Army and the nation," Mitchell said. "We're really proud of them."
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