The U.S. Junior Pan American Team returned home with ten medals, including best federation, after topping the Pan American Junior Championships overall medal table, June 28-July 4, in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The U.S. contingent competed against thirteen other North, Central, and South American nations with nine gold medals on offer, including Junior Men’s and Women’s Individuals and Parallel Individuals, Junior Men’s and Women’s Teams, and Junior Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles.
The U.S. Junior Women’s Team included Riva Bhagwati (Hillsborough, CA), Chelsea Chen (Darien, CT), Trinity Moshi (Washington, DC) and Vivienne Sze (Wellesley, MA). The U.S. Junior Men’s Team includes Sanay Chandra (Sugar Land, TX), Aiden Chen (Los Altos Hills, CA), Zachary Ingber (Chevy Chase, MD) and Vivaan Mehta (Los Altos, CA). The U.S. coaching staff included PSA and Pan American Championships veterans Nayelly Hernandez Walker and Chris Gordon.
The U.S. Junior Women earned six medals in all competitions and ended the tournament by topping the team podium with a gold medal-winning performance against Canada. Trinity Moshi & Chelsea Chen put in another gold medal performance in the softball doubles competition, defeating Colombia in the final. All four players earned a medal in the individual draws. Vivienne Sze claimed Silver in the top individual draw, while Riva Bhagwati earned bronze. Moshi won a third gold medal in the parallel draw, while Chen joined Moshi on the parallel podium with bronze.
U.S. Junior Men earned Bronze in the team competition and earned three individual medals. Vivaan Mehta earned bronze in the top individual draw, while Aiden Chan and Sanay Chandra stood atop the parallel podium with gold and silver medals, respectively.
“We’re incredibly proud of the team’s performance and their ability to come together as a team and support one another,” said Nick Taylor, the Ganek Family US Squash Head National Coach. “This group of players in many cases were competing against older opponents and embraced the challenge. Competing in such a difficult environment will serve this group well as they move on to represent Team USA on the international stage in the years to come. Thank you to Nayelly and Chris for sharing their vast competitive and cultural experiences to help guide the team throughout the competition.”
