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Photo: Bill Kellick
 
The 2010 USA Taekwondo National Team was named Thursday following the completion of the three-day National Team Selection Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, which evaluated the athletes on technical, tactical, mental and physical components. 

“As a member of Taekwondo’s NGB since 1987 and having served in the capacities of USOC AAC rep, USAT AAC chairman,  USAT board member and multiple committees for both the USOC & USAT, having to evaluate the performance of the athletes at this National Team Selection Camp is by far the most challenging task I have been asked to accomplish,” said Eric Laurin, a member of the selection committee and current USA Taekwondo Athlete Advisory Council representative to the USOC. “In the end, the best team was selected based on the information collected during the various camp activities. We worked from 8pm to 5am looking at every aspect that could be evaluated to ensure that the best athlete was chosen and the best two teams were formed for success at the corresponding events.”

The 16 athletes named to the U.S. National Team that will compete at the 2010 Pan American Championships are:

MALE FINWEIGHT
Johnny Nguyen (Tempe, Ariz.)

MALE FLYWEIGHT
James Howe (San Ramon, Calif.)

MALE BANTAMWEIGHT
Jesus Armendariz (La Porte, Texas)

MALE FEATHERWEIGHT
Terrence Jennings (Alexandria, Va.)

MALE LIGHTWEIGHT
Trevor Neville (Edmond, Okla.)

MALE WELTERWEIGHT
Luke Ford (Miami, Fla.)

MALE MIDDLEWEIGHT
Antony Graf (Miami, Fla.)

MALE HEAVYWEIGHT
Jason Neville (Edmond, Okla.)

FEMALE FINWEIGHT
Caitlin VanDrisse (Maple Grove, Minn.)

FEMALE FLYWEIGHT
Charlotte Craig (Murrieta, Calif.)

FEMALE BANTAMWEIGHT
Simone DeVito (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.)

FEMALE FEATHERWEIGHT
Diana Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas)

FEMALE LIGHTWEIGHT
Stephanie Beckel (Miami, Fla.)

FEMALE WELTERWEIGHT
Paige McPherson (Miami, Fla.)

FEMALE MIDDLEWEIGHT
Dalia Avivi (Miami, Fla.)

FEMALE HEAVYWEIGHT
Lauren Cahoon (Miami, Fla.)

The National Team alternates that will compete as the U.S. team at the Feb. 10-14 U.S. Open in Las Vegas are:

MALE FINWEIGHT
Daniel Elkowitz (Houston, Texas)

MALE FLYWEIGHT
Tyler Sawyer (Anchorage, Alaska)

MALE BANTAMWEIGHT
Andrew Oh (Bayside, N.Y.)

MALE FEATHERWEIGHT
Steven Lin (Chatham, N.J.)

MALE LIGHTWEIGHT
none

MALE WELTERWEIGHT
James Moontasri (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

MALE MIDDLEWEIGHT
Salar Faiazi (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

MALE HEAVYWEIGHT
Christian Suh (Franklin Square, N.Y.)

FEMALE FINWEIGHT
Kelsey Kitagawa (San Mateo, Calif.)

FEMALE FLYWEIGHT
Emma Clement (Maple Grove, Minn.)

FEMALE BANTAMWEIGHT
Aziza Chambers (Springfield, Ohio)

FEMALE FEATHERWEIGHT
Danielle Holmquist (Coral Springs, Fla.)

FEMALE LIGHTWEIGHT
Sanaz Shahbazi (San Jose, Calif.)

FEMALE WELTERWEIGHT
Nia Abdallah (Houston, Texas)

FEMALE MIDDLEWEIGHT
Faith Dortch (Ft. Washington, Md.)

FEMALE HEAVYWEIGHT
Amanda Nissen (Carrollton, Texas)

My Students,
You are my constant reminder of why I live and breathe this beautiful martial art. We are mirrors of one another. As I do my best to mold you into what I think a great martial artist should be, I must also embody that ideal. I am once again the number one middle weight in the country and I owe it all to you. Thank you for keeping me youthful. Thank you for being my inspiration. Thank you for believing in me.

Respectfully,
Master Graf

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