Melbourne Takes Gold at U-16 Girls Nexus Championship

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The first age division of the 2021 Nexus Championship (NXC), presented by Harrow Sports, finished today with the U-16 Girls at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. Melbourne claimed the gold in a commanding win over Salt Lake City.

This year's U-16 athletes battled across three days of highly competitive matches as they eyed the ultimate prize of being crowned NXC Champion. Hundreds of athletes from around the country showed off their skills in front of selectors, coaches and fans as they competed for evaluation to further opportunities in the women's Olympic Development Pathway. Congratulations to all the athletes for their hard work and dedication the last few days.

USA Field Hockey would like to extend its congratulations to the following teams on their tournament victories:

Head Coach: Helen Knull

In Alphabetical Order: Olivia Bent-Cole, Maci Bradford, Kaitlyn Chang, Kylee Del Monte, Hannah Dunfee, Tyler Everslage, Colleen Finnan, Caroline Golden, Emiko Hakutani, Brynna Hill, Molly Martin, Kylie McKinley, Venassa Orlina-Mincey, Finley Payne, Faye Post, Esther Pottebaum, Avery Russell, Emma Watchilla, Ava Winner, Abigail Zacchini

Head Coach: Courtney Deena

In Alphabetical Order: Maxwell Aranowitz, Jenna Baxter, Rylee Brooks-Booth, Gianna Caldero, Sadie Canelli, Paige Cornelius, Juana Gonzalez-Peyru, Taylor Guibord, Riley Guy, Sana Halthore, Laney Johns, Smilla Klas, Cole Krempa, Sarah Mudd, McKenna Panko, Avery Pollock, Callie Rogers, Katelyn Strawser, Molly Stutte

Head Coach: Jeremy Cook

In Alphabetical Order: Sofia Abraham, Ellen Almeida, Valentina Ambrogi-Torres, Madison Beach, Laetitia Cartellieri, Ria Chhina, Erika Culp, AJ Eyre, Katherine Fiest, Megan Frank, Natalie Freeman, Ella Gaitan, Kaia Harding, Kerry McCormick, Katelyn Miler, Victoria Peterson, Hala Silverstein, Megan Spear, Hannah War

In addition, congratulations to Beijing for winning the Barbara Longstreth Award for Sportsmanship. This award was created to promote good sportsmanship and given to the team that best exemplifies the qualifies of fair play, graciousness in victory and defeat, and respect for opponents and officials. This award is selected by the USA Field Hockey National Futures Championship Umpire and Coaching Staff.

Head Coach: Megan Bozek

In Alphabetical Order: Elizabeth Adams, Brooke Bettencourt, Claire Campen, Stella Clark, Colleen Conlan, Mia Freeman, Magot Houle, Paige Hummel, Adya Kadam, Autum Kernechel, Caroline Krempa, Charlotte Nemec, Kennedy Overhoff, Jordyn Pepper, Morgan Qualls, Catalina Quinteros, Marissa Skinner, Merritt Skubisz, Hallie Slidell

A member of the U.S. Women's National Team from 1956 to 1964, Longstreth began her field hockey career at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in the 1950's where she excelled in both field hockey and lacrosse. As a national team member, she competed in the epic 3-3 draw with England in front of 56,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium during the teams 1962 tour to Great Britain and Denmark. In 1963, she was a members of the USA's International Federation of Women's Hockey Association Conference team for an event that would become the precursor to today's FIH World Cup.
Longstreth continued her devotion to the game as a coach and eventually founded Longstreth Sporting Goods in 1977. Beginning the enterprise by selling field hockey sticks from the trunk of her car at tournaments, she established her company in Parkers Ford, Pa. where it has become the country's leader in speciality sports products for women. She announced her retirement from the company in 2007.