June 16, 2006 — The United States Equestrian Federation has announced the vaulting team for the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany. Three individual men, three individual women and one team were selected to represent the U.S. The vaulting competition will take place August 23-27, 2006.
The individual members, named in order of their ranking, are as follows:
Women selected for individual competition:
1. Megan Benjamin, 18, from Saratoga, Calif., with a final average score of 8.590
2. Elizabeth Osborn, 16, from Menlo Park, Calif., with a final average score of 8.267
3. Mary McCormick, 23, from Woodside, Calif., with a final average score of 8.240
Alternate: Alicen Divita, 17, from Redwood City, Calif., with a final average score of 8.128
Men selected for individual competition:
1. Kenny Geisler, 25, from Diamond Bar, Calif., with a final average score of 7.627
2. Todd Griffiths, 27, from Pullman, Wash., with a final average score of 7.402
3. Chris Littmann, 22, from Agoura, Calif., with a final average score of 6.965
With a final average score of 7.944, F.A.M.E. was selected as the team to represent the United States. The F.A.M.E. vaulters are a composite team from northern and southern California and New Jersey.
F.A.M.E. team members:
Blake Dahlgren, 22, from Sun Valley, Calif; Devon Maitozo, 30, from Simi Valley, Calif.; Rosalind Ross, 15, from Woodside, Calif.; Megan Benjamin, 18, from Saratoga, Calif.; Katie Ritchie, 19, from Santa Cruz, Calif.; Annalise Vanvranken, 14, from Mays Landing, N.J.; and Elizabeth Ioannou, 10, from Saratoga, Calif.
The athletes were selected based on the average of their top three scores obtained at USEF-licensed competitions held from March 1-June 5, as well as the 2005 USEF National Vaulting Championships for individuals.
