The summer Olympics will be starting soon and I thought it would be fun to take a look at all the Olympians from Pennsylvania. Or at least all the ones with a PA connection. Hopefully this is a complete list, but who knows. I am not even sure if all the trials are over yet. So if you see any I missed, let me know.
Name: Michael Shuey
Sport: Javelin
PA Connection: PSU (Johnsonburg High School)
Fun Fact: My friend Michelle is friends with his sister (and honestly, Michelle posted about him competing for a spot is what gave me the idea for this post).
Name: Casey Kaufhold
Sport: Archery
PA Connection: Lancaster
Fun Fact: She is 17, you can check her out on Instagram and see pictures of archery, but also pictures of prom. How can you not root for her?
Name: Ajeé Wilson
Sport: Athletics (800 m)
PA Connection: Temple University
Fun Fact: Her second Olympics, probably hopes to do better than she did at Rio.
Name: Joe Kovacs
Sport: Shot Put
PA Connection: Penn State & Nazareth
Fun Fact: Silver medal winner in 2016.
Name: Sam Mattis
Sport: Discus
PA Connection: University of Pennsylvania
Fun Fact: His best throw ever is only two meters behind the world record, is that good? I have no idea.
Name: Payton Ridenour
Sport: BMX
PA Connection: Pottstown
Fun Fact: She is also a children’s author…Olympian and author at the age of 19. Does that make you feel like you have been wasting your life at all?
Name: Jake Hoyle
Sport: Fencing
PA Connection: Wallingford
Fun Fact: This is one story they will definitely tell on TV (if fencing is televised): he is an ordained minister because when his aunts got married, they needed someone last minute, so he did the online thing to help them out.
Name: Andrew Mackiewicz
Sport: Fencing
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: He is currently ranked 95th in the world. Check your local bookie to see what odds he is giving him to medal.
Name: Khalil Thompson
Sport: Fencing
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: He only went to Penn State for about a year, then suffered from extreme anxiety. Moved back home to NJ and eventually got help, which he used fencing to help him through his depression.
Name: Alyssa Naeher
Sport: Soccer
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: This is her second Olympics, but first as the starting goalkeeper.
Name: Abby Dahlkemper
Sport: Soccer
PA Connection: Lancaster
Fun Fact: She was born in Lancaster, but she grew up in California. This will be her first Olympics.
Name: Michael Grady
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: Pittsburgh
Fun Fact: Went to Central Catholic High School, the home of famous football players like Dan Marino, Stefan Wisniewski, and Marc Bulger. Also the home of Penn State standout wrestler Vincenzo Joseph.
Name: Justin Best
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: Kennett Square (Unionville High School) & Drexel University
Fun Fact: Parents saw the movie The Social Network and figured since the Winklevoss twins had big upper bodies, that Justin would be perfect for the sport. Good thing they did not watch Armie Hammer in J. Edgar and force him into the FBI.
Name: Nick Mead
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: Strafford
Fun Fact: Is there a funnier word than coxswain?
Name: Alex Miklasevich
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: Central Catholic High School
Fun Fact: Two Olympians from the same high school team, that is probably rare, right? Also, if you want your kid to go to an Ivy League school, have them join the crew team.
Name: Julian Venonsky
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: Malvern
Fun Fact: Went to Malvern Prep, then went to Cal-Berkeley. Can anyone find Malvern on a map without Googling it?
Name: Regina Salmons
Sport: Rowing
PA Connection: University of Pennsylvania
Fun Fact: Her name is a fish! Also, why does PA have such a big rowing connection? Is that our state sport???
Name: Kayla Canett
Sport: Rugby
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: She was part of Penn State’s 2017 National Championship team.
Name: Kristen Thomas
Sport: Rugby
PA Connection: Philadelphia
Fun Fact: One of her hobbies is carpentry. Also, she started playing rugby in college.
Name: Hali Flickinger
Sport: Swimming (200 m butterfly & 400 m individual medley)
PA Connection: Spring Grove High School
Fun Fact: She placed 7th at the 2016 Olympics.
Name: Jennifer Brady
Sport: Tennis
PA Connection: Harrisburg
Fun Fact: Currently ranked #15 in the WTA.
Name: Alison Riske
Sport: Tennis
PA Connection: Pittsburgh (Peters Township High School)
Fun Fact: She won the PA State Championship (team and individual).
Name: Tim Federowicz
Sport: Baseball
PA Connection: Erie
Fun Fact: He had his first Major League start against the Pirates and he got his first hit off of Ross Ohlendorf.
Name: Matt Anderson
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: Won a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Olympics.
Name: Mitchell Stahl
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: Chambersburg High School
Fun Fact: Helped lead his high school to a state title in 2012. I wonder if Josh or Christine knows him, they are from that area.
Name: Max Holt
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: Bronze medal in 2016 and was an alternate on the 2012 team. Won the 2008 National Championship with PSU.
Name: Aaron Russell
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: Part of the 2016 Bronze medal team. Did not have men’s volleyball in high school, so he trained with the girls team.
Name: Micha Hancock
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: Back-to-back National Titles at PSU, was the Outstanding Player at the 2013 tournament.
Name: Haleigh Washington
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: Holds the Colorado state record for most kills in a match with 48. Maybe Kayla or Adam can tell me if that is impressive.
Name: Megan Courtney
Sport: Volleyball
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: She was the Outstanding Player of the 2014 NCAA tournament after leading PSU to another title.
Name: David Taylor
Sport: Wrestling
PA Connection: PSU
Fun Fact: He defeated Bo Nickal to make his way onto the Olympic team.
Name: John Stefanowicz
Sport: Wrestling
PA Connection: York (Kennard-Dale High School)
Fun Fact: This guy has one of the coolest stories. He did not even make it to the regional tournament his senior year after finishing third at the District 3 Section 5 tournament. He then enlisted in the Marines and hit a growth spurt. After a few years he got back into wrestling and eventually earned a spot on the Olympic team. How cool is that?
These next few are probably a bit tenuous. I included them because they have some ties to PA. First up we have a few coaches: Mike Scioscia (the baseball coach who is from Upper Darby) and Jay Wright (the assistant basketball coach who is from Churchville and is the Villanova head coach). I did not check any other coaches, so I have no clue if the Ping-Pong coach is from PA. I just knew that Wright and Scioscia are from this state.
Next up we have two equestrians. Phillip Dutton represented Australia for two Olympics (winning gold in 1996 and 2000) and then switched to America. He won the bronze in 2016. He and his wife live in Avondale and they have a farm. Boyd Martin will be competing his third Olympics. He and his wife live in Cochranville. Fun fact…Martin trained with Dutton and considers him to be a mentor. I think they own farms near each other. I honestly have no clue about horse stuff. And honestly, these two are not tenuous, they actually live in Pennsylvania. Maybe I am just anti-equestrian.
There are three wrestlers who train with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, which means they probably have been living here for at least part of the time: Thomas Gilman, Kyle Snyder, and Helen Maroulis. Also, tennis pro Jessica Pegula is the daughter of Terry Pegula, you know, the guy who basically paid for the hockey team’s arena. I bet she has been to Penn State a few times.
And finally we have former Penn State athletes who are competing in the Tokyo Olympics with other countries. I did not search every country to see if there were similar situations. Again, if you know of a former Pitt athlete competing for Somalia or something, just let me know.
- Shane Ryan–Swimming–Ireland (2nd Olympics)
- Erin McLeod–Soccer–Canada (3rd Olympics)
- Kaito Streets–Fencing–Japan (1st Olympics)
- Mohamed Hassan–Fencing–Egypt (1st Olympics)
- Gabe Castano–Swimming–Mexico (1st Olympics)
Okay, so those are all the ones I could find. Good luck to all of the Pennsylvanians competing in Tokyo!
