U.S. Olympic Committee Announces Best of March Finalists for Team USA Awards Presented by Dow

The United States Olympic Committee today announced the finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of March, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight on Tuesday, April 4.

A total of nine sports – alpine skiing, baseball, bobsled, freestyle skiing, long track speedskating, Paralympic alpine skiing, Paralympic cycling, Paralympic Nordic skiing and snowboarding – are represented among the 13 finalists across men’s, women’s and team categories.

Each of the finalists automatically qualify for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round. A complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period can be found at TeamUSA.org. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held in December.

In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

MARCH FINALISTS

Male Athlete of the Month

Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho), Paralympic Nordic Skiing

Won his first-ever international medal at the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup and won three golds, one silver and one bronze medal in March with his new guide Sawyer Kesselheim.

Andrew Kurka (Palmer, Alaska), Paralympic Alpine Skiing

Took home gold and bronze medals to claim the overall super-G world cup title while also capturing his first career world cup season title in downhill.

Chris Murphy (Rancho Cucamonga, California), Paralympic Cycling

Won his first pair of world titles at the 2017 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, helping Team USA make history in the team sprint with the first-ever world title in program history.

Marcus Stroman (Medford, New York), Baseball

Led Team USA to its first-ever WBC title and was named tournament MVP after surrendering runs in only one of 15.1 innings pitched and taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of the championship game.

McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), Freestyle Skiing

Won the men’s slopestyle skiing world title and earned a second-place world cup finish to earn the season-ending FIS slopestyle crystal globe.

Female Athlete of the Month

Heather Bergsma (High Point, North Carolina), Long Track Speedskating

Won titles at 1,000 and 1,500 meters to secure her third Grand World Cup crown and joined Bonnie Blair as the only women-ever to sweep the trifecta of season titles at 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Virginia), Freestyle Skiing

Became the first American woman in 22 years to claim the women’s aerials world title and the first woman ever to land a quadruple twisting triple flip in competition.

Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vermont), Snowboarding

Extended her reign as the most decorated snowboardcross athlete – and the most decorated snowboarder in any event – when she won an unprecedented fifth world title in as many starts.

Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky), Paralympic Nordic Skiing

Won the cross-country globe in women’s sitting as she won nine world cup medals in the month of March. Won four gold medals at the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup and two additional at the world cup final.

Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, Colorado), Alpine Skiing

Earned three world cup podium finishes to claim the 2017 overall world cup title, becoming only the fifth American alpine skier to do, while also winning her fourth overall slalom title at age 22.

Team of the Month

U.S. World Baseball Classic Team, Baseball

Won its first-ever World Baseball Classic title, finishing the tournament with a 6-2 mark highlighted by wins over the Dominican Republic, previously unbeaten Puerto Rico and two-time WBC champion Japan.

U.S. Team Sprint, Paralympic Cycling

Won the first-ever international team sprint title for Team USA at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships.

Jamie Greubel Poser (Newtown, Pennsylvania) and Aja Evans (Chicago, Illinois), Bobsled

Won the final world cup stop of the 2016-17 season at the Olympic track in PyeongChang, South Korea, to clinch the overall women’s bobsled title with five medals.

SELECTION PROCESS

Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.

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