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2006 Jr. National Championship Results
ZLB Behring is pleased to announce our two National Champions for our 2006 NHF/
ZLB Behring Junior National Championship.
National Winners:
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National Winner in Golf
Benjamin Gruher - 7 Years Old
Camas, Washington |
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National Winner in Baseball:
Jordan Swoape - 13 years old
Muncie, Indiana |
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San Diego Winners
Morgan Run Resort and Golf Club in San Diego was a beautiful backdrop for our last JNC event in 2006!
This event had many firsts: the largest attendance this year - boasting of 120 attendees with 64 children! Needless to say, we were very busy that day! Also, another first - Corey arranged for a translator, along with headsets because of the large Spanish-speaking membership with the San Diego Chapter. Also in support of this population, Ivan Sada, past JNC National Baseball Champion from Tampa, was in attendance and helped out tremendously in making all feel comfortable.
Left to Right:
Perry Parker,
Vohn Dumdumaya
For the lowest score in golf, we are proud to announce that Vohn Dumdumaya was the winner! Vohn received an official JNC golf bag, made a presentation to the kids, assisted Perry Parker at the driving range and also competed in the competition. Congratulations Vohn! This young golfer has been competing in our championship since the first year and personifies what our Junior National Championship Program is all about!
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We are pleased to announce our Regional Winners from this great event:
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Regional Winner in Baseball
Stephen Pascucci - 15 Years Old
San Diego, California
Left-Right: Perry Parker, Stephen Pascucci, Jesse Schrader
Stephen is the son of Tony Pascucci, President of the San Diego Chapter. Stephen is a sophomore in high school. He is an all-around athlete! He runs cross country and track and this must be Stephen's week of triumph, because not only did he win the Regional JNC trophy, but for the first time ever, he broke the 18 minute mark for three miles this week! Congratulations Stephen, we look forward to seeing you next week in Philly!
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Regional Winner in Golf
Chris Cale - 11 Years Old
Chino Hills, California
Left-Right: Jesse Schrader, Chris Cale, Perry Parker
Chris has been playing golf for 5 years starting at the age of 6! He plays golf with his Dad once a week and enjoys the quality time! He is in the Southern California PGA Junior League and placed 7th overall in the Desert Tour. Chris enjoyed meeting others with hemophilia, and when asked what the highlight of the day was, he said, "My drive on hole #8 - 220 yards!" Bob Lefebvre, his caddy, validated the distance! Congratulations, Chris, we look forward to seeing you next week in Philadelphia!
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Albany Winners
"Against all odds" is an understatement for the Albany JNC. The weather was not cooperating, with rain forecasted - heavy at times - throughout the day and our baseball field was too wet for our competition. Also, bad weather played a part in "attempting" to discourage Perry Parker from making his way out east from tornado-ridden Chicago. After hours and hours of going from gate to gate, Perry finally got a flight to Hartford, Connecticut in the wee hours of the morning and drove hours to our JNC - just in the nick of time! Perry received the MVP award of the day!
What started out being a day full of challenges ended up being one of our best JNC events ever! Not only did all the families attend, despite the rain, but we had two TV stations in full gear taping our event, along with a reporter from a local newspaper.
Media coverage of this event:
Capital News 9
Troy Record article
And now for the Albany results:
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Regional Winner in Baseball
Brianna Blazavich - 14 Years Old
Endicott, New York
Left-Right: Perry Parker, Brianna Blazavich, Jesse Schrader
This press coverage was only the beginning, for the day just kept getting better and better! We had a JNC first in the history of the program....drum roll please......the saying "Girls Rule" had special meaning on the baseball field set up at the golf course! Brianna Blazavich, age 14, a ninth grader from Endicott, New York, was triumphant against other male competitors! Brianna has been playing softball since she was 9 years old. She plays short stop and pitcher. She was also named MVP two years ago in her league. When asked how she felt about being our Regional Baseball Winner - Brianna just grinned and said "It's a powerful feeling!" Yes it is and the female attendees loved cheering her on! Congratulations, Brianna!
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Regional Winner in Golf
Colby Jordan - 13 Years Old
Cohoes, New York
Left-Right: Perry Parker, Colby Jordan, Jesse Schrader
Mr. Colby Jordan, age 13, was equally as triumphant on the golf course. Colby is 13 years old from Cohoes, New York and is on the high school golf team at school. Colby is involved in many sports other than golf. He plays baseball and has also been bowling since he was four years old. When I asked Colby how it felt to meet Perry, he said, "Perry is one of the most famous people I have ever met!" He also had his best score for nine holes by 15 strokes! He attributed his success to his caddy's advice - Dr. Alan Kinniburgh from the NHF. "Dr. Kinniburgh taught me how to visualize my golf shot and it worked!" Something tells me that Colby will always remember that advice. Congratulations, Colby!
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Portland Winners
The beautiful city of Portland was the perfect backdrop for our second JNC event held on Saturday, August 23rd.
70 attendees, 45 of which were children, attended this event. The Hemophilia Foundation of Oregon got creative in utilizing this Championship to raise funds for their chapter through tee sponsorships. Linda Charles, President, and Monica Dickey, told us they raised close to $2,000. This sponsorship program has been shared with the other hosting JNC chapters in the hopes that they too, can leverage our JNC's to compliment their efforts.
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Left to Right:
Jesse Schrader,
Mitch Dickey
Lots of smiles that day, as each child was called up by Perry and Corey Parker to receive their gold medal of excellence! We had another repeat champion--Mitch Dickey had the highest score in baseball and received an official JNC bat bag and will receive a trophy for his outstanding accomplishment! Mitch is a great athlete and has been involved in our JNC program for a few years. Mitch was our Regional Baseball Winner in Portland last year.
Also our two "Good Sportsmanship" awards were given in memory of Michael Charles, late husband of Linda Charles. Mike had attended these JNC events in the past and was with us in spirit that day! |
| And now, we are pleased to announce our regional winners, both from Washington state: |
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Regional Winner in Baseball
Alex Burden - 12 Years Old
Washougal, Washington
Left-Right: Alex Burden, Jesse Schrader, Perry Parker
Alex is the son of our own "Hemophilia Mom", Rhonda Boni-Burden. Rhonda has an amazing story and you can read more about her and her family on ZLB Behring's own "Hemophilia Moms" Website at www.hemophiliamoms.com.
But let's focus for now on Alex! Alex is a 7th grader at Jemtegaard Middle School. He plays baseball, soccer, flag football (and I emphasize flag!) and also rides a motorcycle. When asked how he manages his hemophilia while being so active, he said "I do a lot of stuff and I always infuse
before I do an activity!" Alex personifies the essence of our Gettin' in the Game and Junior National Championship programs! He was also very surprised to win his title. Alex will join us in Philadelphia at the 58th NHF Annual Meeting, where you will get to congratulate Alex in person! |
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Regional Winner in Golf
Benjamin Gruher - 7 Years Old
Camas, Washington
Yes, you read correctly - 7 years old! Benjamin was on fire that day and totally focused on his game! He shot a 43 for 9 holes! When his name was mentioned, Benjamin was in shock, but when he saw his trophy, he knew what he accomplished! He started playing golf at age 3 and has played in the U.S Kids Tournament. Children speak the truth, and when asked how he felt being the champion, Benjamin said: "I'm glad the other kids at that U.S.Kids Tournament weren't here today, because they would have beat me!" It was hard to keep a straight face!
There was more words of wisdom from our youngest-ever regional golf winner when he said "I like being here today because I felt like everyone else and I made a lot of friends!" Benjamin practices his game three times a week. What passion for someone so young! Congratulations to Benjamin and his family! We welcome you to Philadelphia in the next coming weeks! |
Indianapolis Winners
It is with pleasure that we announce the winners of our first JNC in the beautiful city of Indianapolis!
For the lowest score in golf, we are proud to announce that Luis Aguayo was the winner. Since Luis was our 2005 National Winner in Golf, the trip went to the following golfer. However, Luis received an official JNC golf bag. Luis made a presentation to the kids, assisted Perry Parker at the driving range and also competed in the competition. Congratulations Luis!
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Left to Right:
Luis Aguayo, Perry Parker |
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The Indianapolis Regional Winners are as follows:
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Spencer (Spence) Hinkle - 14 years old
Marion, Indiana
Left to right: Perry Parker, Spencer Hinkle, Jesse Schrader
Spence is in 9th grader at Marion High School. He plays golf everyday and loves it because of the competitive nature of the game. He shot a 52 for nine holes. When asked about his feelings on the competition, he said "I liked my caddy the best because he cleaned my clubs and gave me accurate yardage!" In case you didn't know, Paul Perreault was his caddy and was pretty proud of Spence's accomplishments. Congratulations, Spence! |
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Regional Winner in Baseball:
Jordan Swoape - 13 years old
Muncie, Indiana
Left to right: Jesse Schrader, Jordan Swoape, Perry Parker
Jordan has been playing baseball since he was 5 and currently plays with the traveling league - the Muncie Chiefs and a league team The A's, so he lives and breathes baseball! The positions he plays are short-stop and pitcher. When he was diagnosed at age 7, the doctors told his parents that he would never be able to play sports! Jordan is especially excited since the trip to Philadelphia will be his first flight ever! Congratulations, Jordan. |
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