Earlier today, USA Weightlifting announced the roster of athletes that will be competing at the 2019 Pan American Championships. The 2019 Pan American Championships are set to take place on April 20-28 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. This competition is a big deal for a handful of athletes, as it’s a Gold qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
What does that mean? In order to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, athletes must compete in a total of six events in the span of the 18-month Olympic Games qualification period. This 18-month qualification timeline is broken into three different periods, and athletes must have competed in at least one event during each time period and must have accrued a total of one Gold-level event, and a second Gold or Silver-level event. This means that this competition is checking a major Games qualification box for many Olympic hopefuls.
Keep in mind, this event is the Pan American Championships, and not the Pan American Games (a silver-level event), which are being in July in Lima, Peru. USA Weightlifting stated in their press release that the Pan American Games team will be announced in the spring.
Pan American Championships Teams
Check out the full team rosters below, which come directly from USA Weightlifting’s press release. Note, an asterisk next to an athlete’s name means reserve.
Men’s Pan American Championships Team
| Name | BW CAT | Hometown | Coach | Club |
| Jordan Wissinger | 67kg | Denver, PA | Dane Miller | Garage Strength |
| Alex Lee | 67kg | Chandler, AZ | Shahin Nasirnia | Alee Athletics |
| CJ Cummings | 73kg | Beaufort, SC | Rayford Jones | Team Divergent |
| Harrison Maurus | 81kg | Auburn, WA | Kevin Simons | Alpha Barbell |
| Christian Rodriguez Ocasio | 81kg | San Ramon, CA | David Spitz | California Strength |
| Jordan Cantrell | 89kg | Clovis, CA | Travis Mash | Mash Mafia Weightlifting |
| John Downey* | 89kg | Irvine, CA | Russell McCarthy | Barbells for Boobs Weightlifting |
| Jason Bonnick | 96kg | Laxahatchee, FL | Brian Secrest | Vero Beach Weightlifting |
| D’Angelo Osorio | 102kg | Vallejo, CA | Rob Earwicker | Lift 6 for 6 Weightlifting |
| Wes Kitts | 109kg | San Ramon, CA | David Spitz | California Strength |
| Caine Wilkes | +109kg | Matthews, NC | Chris Wilkes | Little League Weightlifting |
| Keiser Witte* | +109kg | Phoenix, AZ | Shahin Nasirnia | Alee Athletics |
Women’s Pan American Championships Team
| Name | BW CAT | Hometown | Coach | Club |
| Alyssa Ritchey | 49kg | Perrysburg, OH | Max Aita | Team Juggernaut |
| Morghan King | 49kg | Atlanta, GA | Spencer Arnold | Power & Grace Performance |
| Jourdan Delacruz | 55kg | Atlanta, GA | Spencer Arnold | Power & Grace Performance |
| Caitlin Hogan | 55kg | Long Beach, CA | Russell McCarthy | Academy of Weightlifting |
| Jessica Lucero | 59kg | Orange, CA | Juan Martinez Baro | Academy of Weightlifting |
| Taylor Turner* | 59kg | St. Johns, FL | Vance Newguard | Vero Beach Weightlifting |
| Mattie Sasser | 64kg | Chicago, IL | Dave Ester | Unattached |
| Hunter Elam* | 64kg | Lewisville, NC | Travis Mash | Mash Mafia Weightlifting |
| Mattie Rogers | 71kg | Orlando, FL | Danny Camargo | Team OC |
| Kate Nye | 71kg | Oakland Township, MI | Josh Galloway | Team Hercules |
| Jenny Arthur | 76kg | Colorado Springs, CO | Kevin Doherty | Unattached |
| Sarah Robles | +87kg | League City, TX | Tim Swords | Team Houston |
Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise noted on specific content projects.
Feature image from @usa_weightlfiting Instagram page.
