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All photos in this article belong to the USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF). Gallaudet University is a USADSF sponsor.

A herd of Bison was spotted in Tokyo, Japan! Dozens of Gallaudet students, staff, faculty, and alumni participated in the 2025 Deaflympics, which took place November 15-25. Many competed as athletes, while others acted as coaches or administrative support.

The Deaflympics represented another step in the growing relationship between Gallaudet and Japan. The university recently launched the Gallaudet-Japan Initiative, which will deepen partnerships with scholars and communities in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.

Below, you’ll find a list of Gallaudet students, staff, faculty, and alumni on Team USA, as well as a summary of their competition results. You can visit the USADSF website for a full list of Team USA results and more photos. Check out the Deaflympics website for results from the entire games.

Opening Ceremony

A photo of a team of USA athletes walking toward the camera, on the floor of a dark arena. It is clearly the front of a line. They are wearing dark blue blazers and white shirts. One person in front is holding and waving a large USA flag. In the upper background is a large screen showing a video camera's view.
Left to right: Michael Lizarraga, Noah Valencia, Jon Mowl, Derek Keels
A photo of two people hugging. There are similarly-dressed people behind each person. To the right are dark blue blazers. To the left are bright red and white sports jackets. It can be assumed the huggers are athletes on Team Canada (left) and Team USA (right). The USA hugger is smiling brightly.
Leila Sicoli (center)
A photo of a person in a dark blue blazer and white shirt being held on the shoulders of two similarly-dressed teammates. They are grasping a small USA flag and raising their left arm. In the foreground, another teammate is cheering the camera with a flag.
Noah Valencia (elevated) and Keanu Boren (bottom right)
A photo looking up at seats in an arena with many people holding up their smartphones with flashlights on. The people in the photo are wearing dark blue blazers with white shirts. They appear to be athletes for Team USA.
Lynn Ray Boren (bottom right foreground)
A photo of five dancers in bright, solid-color outfits on the floor of a dark arena. They are posing into a T shape, with their right arm and left leg straight off the ground. In the center, the most prominent dancer wears green. Behind, two wear yellow. Blue and red are also visible. Many more dancers are obscured in the background.

Gallaudet alumnus Jon Mowl, ’10, was the flagbearer for Team USA during the Opening Ceremony. The event was attended by Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino, Her Imperial Highness Princess Kako, and His Imperial Highness Prince Hisahito, and Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Both the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony included remarks from Yuriko Koike, Major of Tokyo; Daigo Ishibashi, President of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf; and Adam Kosa, Board President of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf.

Basketball

Follow USA Deaf Basketball on Instagram

Men’s Basketball 🥇

A photo of six basketball players running toward each other and celebrating on a court. They wear dark blue jerseys that say "USA". In the foreground, two players in the center right of the image are mid-landing and cheering towards their bench. In the center left, two other players are smiling and hugging. On the outsides of the image, two other players join the celebration.
Left to right: Keanu Boren, Jon Mowl, Preston Kelly, Noah Valencia, Jory Valencia, Andy Cruz
A photo of eleven athletes in dark blue jumpsuits lined up with gold medals around their neck. They are looking at a flag offscreen to the upper right in an arena.
A photo looking up at a basketball player shooting a free throw. They wear a white jersey that can be assuming to read "USA" and a white elbow sleeve.
Jory Valencia
A photo of two basketball players. In the center, a player with a dark blue jersey reading "USA" drives intensely with the basketball. On the left, a defender with a gold jersey reading "Austria" tries to keep up.
Noah Valencia (10)
A photo of a coach addressing a basketball team huddle. They are wearing a gray pullover with a USA flag on the right chest. Out of focus in the foreground are two players in white. In the background, top left of the image, is a person in a dark blue shirt that says "USA".
David Hamilton
A photo of two basketball players running to the right. The player on the left is dribbling a ball. Their #21 dark blue jersey says "USA". The player on the right is defending and looking ahead. Their #10 yellow jersey says "Ukraine".
Andy Cruz (21)
A photo of a basketball player dribbling with their left hand. They wear a #3 dark blue jersey reading "USA" over a black sleeveless shirt. Their right hand is over their right ear and their right eye is winking, either in pain or to signal a play to their teammates.
Preston Kelly (3)
A photo of a basketball player squatting to engage with two small children who have t-shirts that resemble jerseys with "Mowl" and the number 7. The player is nuzzling the closest child playfully, while the other child paws at the nuzzle.
Jon Mowl
A photo of two basketball players with a crowd in the background. The player on the left is crouching to begin a jump shot with the ball. They wear a #23 white jersey reading "USA". On the right, their defender jumps in front with flailing arms. They wear a #9 blue jersey reading "Israel".
Raymond Nelson (23)

Athletes

  • Keanu Boren | Student
  • Andy Cruz, ’19
  • Derek Keels, E-’20
  • Preston Kelly, ’24
  • Blessed Mbogo, ’25 | Assistant Coach, Men’s Basketball

Coaches

The men’s basketball team captured the gold in Tokyo! They defeated Ukraine 69-59, with contributions from a host of Gallaudet alumni and students. Cruz, Kelly, and the Valencia brothers all played heavy minutes in the gold medal game.

Women’s Basketball 🥈

A photo of twelve basketball players smiling and posing in front of arena bleachers full of supporters. The players wear white jerseys reading "USA". Two USA flags are visible in the crowd.
Top row: Tawnecia Rush, Hannah Puent, Alyssa Wells, Claire Ruiz-Tucker, Raj Guettler, Nuke Hayes, and Graci Dietrich; Bottom row: Emelia Beldon, Cheynne Talbot, Kaela Zapadinsky, Sunita Schmidjorg, and Cassidy Perry
A photo of two basketball players on a court. The player on the left, wearing a dark blue uniform with "USA", is dribbling forward while the player on the right in white defends.
Emelia Beldon (24)
A photo looking up at four players on a basketball court, in front of an arena crowd. Prominent in the center is a player in a white #1 uniform that says "USA", dribbling toward the camera with the ball. To their left in the image, farther up in the foreground, is a player in a #11 blue uniform. Another white uniform is on the far left, and another blue uniform is on the far right.
Sunita Schmidjorg (1)
A photo of a basketball player looking attentively to the left. They wear a white uniform with "USA" in dark blue. Out-of-focus in the background are arena bleachers.
Claire Ruiz-Tucker
A photo of four basketball players on a court in an arena. Prominent in the foreground, two players jostle under the hoop. The player on the left is wearing a dark blue uniform with "USA". They have the ball and push their left shoulder into the player on the right, who has their hands up. They wear a white uniform.
Raj Guettler (with ball)

Athletes

  • Hannah Puent, ’25
  • Claire Ruiz-Tucker, ’16
  • Sunita Schmidjorg, E-’23

Administrative Staff

  • Jennifer Kysella, ’95
  • Lindsay Stergio, ’15 & G-’17

The women’s basketball team finished with a strong showing, narrowly missing out on the gold after a 64-65 nailbiter against the Japan home team. A host of former Bison basketball stars played a vital role in capturing silver for the USA.

Bowling

A photo of a bowler celebrating with a yell and flex in a busy bowling alley. They are wearing a gaudy bowling shirt with USA colors and styling. They have white hair and glasses.
Kimberly Wroldsen
A photo of a bald bowler celebrating with a dramatic pose in a bowling alley. They are wearing a blue patterned bowling shirt with USA on the left sleeve.
Ronnie Zuchegno

Athletes

  • Kimberly Wroldsen, E-’91
  • Ronnie Zuchegno, Jr., E-’00

Coaches

  • Jamie O’Hea, E-’96

Two Gallaudet alumni bowled their hearts out as part of Team USA. They competed in Singles, Doubles, Team, and Mixed matches. Wroldsen placed as high as 4th in the Women’s Team match.

Cycling

Follow USA Deaf Cycling on Instagram

A photo of a cyclist in blue, black and white. Their jersey has "USA" on the chest and right sleeve, and a USA flag on the left sleeve. They are rounding a turn to their left.
Brittany Skjeveland
A photo of six cyclists biking toward the camera. Prominent in the middle is a cyclist with a jersey that says USA on the chest. They have a black helmet and dark googles.
Lindsay Buchko (center)
A photo of at least nine cyclists bending around a turn on a pavement course. In the lead on the right is a cyclist in white, red, and black Korean colors. Second in the middle is a cyclist in blue, black and white with "USA" on the chest. In the background are many blue and white cones, as well as white tents.
Blake Herbold (center)

Athletes

  • Lindsay Buchko | Director, Institutional Research
  • Blake Herbold, ’08
  • Dmitriy Rossoshanskiy, ’15
  • Courtney Skjeveland, E-’23
  • Brittany Skjeveland, ’22

Administrative Staff

The USADSF cycling team competed in various Road Cycling and Mountain Bike events, earning two medals. Our Bison athletes rode hard and had a great showing!

Football (Soccer)

Visit USA Deaf Soccer on Instagram for photos of the football teams in action.

Women’s Football 🥇

Athletes

  • Payton DeGraw, ’23
  • Meghan Maiwald, ’17 | Athletics and Afterschool Program Coordinator, Clerc Center
  • Sabina Shysh, ’19 & G-’21

The US Women’s Football team dominated the field during the Deaflympics, outscoring their opponents 35-0 over four games! Degraw, Maiwald, and Shysh played in every game, helping the US team capture gold. Their accomplishments got a shoutout from US Women’s Soccer legends Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy! 

Men’s Football

Athletes

  • Kevin Fitzpatrick, ’20
  • Jean-Pierre Kanashiro, E-’16
  • Jonathon Waterman, ’24

The US Men’s Football team showed great spirit in going 2-3 against a tough Deaflympics draw. Fitzpatrick and Waterman started every game they were available for, with Waterman scoring a goal against Korea. Kanashiro appeared in every game and started one.

Orienteering

Follow USA Deaf Orienteering on Instagram

A photo of two orienteers smiling in a park. They are wearing uniforms of dark blue with a red and white splash over the right shoulder. They have numbers pinned over their stomaches. In the background, various people are milling.
Keith Doane (left) and Sachiko Flores (right)
A photo of two orienteers crossing a finish line. Prominent in front is an orienteer with a dark blue uniform and the number 108 pinned over their stomach. They are visibly tired. In the background is a line of orange cones.
Thomas Wells

Athletes

The USA Deaf Orienteering team fought hard over unfamiliar terrain at Hibiya Park in Tokyo. Later, they traversed the Ura-Sabaku Desert on Izu Oshima Island. 

Track & Field

A photo looking up at a smiling track athlete with the USA flag wrapped around them. They stand on the sideline of a blue track in a stadium. They have curly blonde hair and dark glasses. They wear a dark blue and red uniform reading "USA".
Darius Zarembka
A photo of four runners in mid-stride. The runner prominent in the center is wearing a dark blue and red uniform reading "USA". They look focused as they try to catch up to an out-of-focus runner in the foreground with a "Japan" uniform.
Sevan Ikeda
A photo of two runners in mid-stride rounding the turn of a blue track. The runner in front is wearing dark blue and red reading "USA", and holding a baton in their right hand. The runner in back has a colorful uniform and baton in their right hand. In the far background is a crowd in bleachers.
Gareth Ashton
A photo from the side of a runner mid-stride on a blue track going to the right. They wear a dark blue and red uniform. In the background are track decorations: a metal tower, scoreboard, and bleacher seats.
Eric Gregory
A photo of an athlete in mid-air during a long jump. They wear a dark blue and red uniform reading "USA". Their jump is on a track with judges watching. A crowd is out of focus in the background.
Darius Zarembka

Athletes

Coaches & Administrative Staff

  • Audrey Frank | Retired Professor, Social Work
  • Dave Frank | Former Head Coach, Track & Field
  • Karen Smith, E-’95
  • Lawrence Smith, ’93

The USA Deaf Track & Field team earned five medals during the Deaflympics. Ashton competed in the 100m, 4x400m relay, and 4x100m relay events. Gregory competed in the 100m, 200m (placing first in one heat), 4x400m relay, and 4x100m. Ikeda competed in the 1500m and 5000m races. Zarembka competed in the long jump and high jump.

Men’s 4×100 Relay 🥈

A photo of four track athletes posing for the camera, holding up a USA flag. They wear tight tank tops with red and dark blue that read "USA". Their free hands make various signs.
Gareth Ashton, Jarvis Anderson, Eric Gregory, and Taylor Koss

Ashton and Gregory were part of the men’s team that won the silver medal in the 4×100 relay!

Volleyball

Follow USA Deaf Volleyball on Instagram

Women’s Indoor Volleyball

A photo of four volleyball players celebrating a point in front of the net.The players wear white jerseys and dark blue shorts. Second from the left, a player catches the eye with their arms raised high in celebration.
Sarah Tubert (12), Citrine Lummer (11), Jada Zarembka (6) and Brielle Worley (14)
A photo of a volleyball player looking away from the camera with an out-of-focus volleyball court in the background. They wear a dark blue jersey with a white name and number: "Zarembka #6". A USA flag is wrapped around their midsection. Past the volleyball court bleachers with a crowd are visible.
Jada Zarembka
A photo of a volleyball spike in action. On the left, five players are visible with white and dark blue uniforms. In the foreground, #14 jumps and strikes a ball above the net. On the right, two players in blue and yellow uniforms jump by the net with arms raised to block. Another teammate is in the background watching.
Leila Sicoli (5), Sarah Tubert (14), Brielle Worley (14), and Jada Zarembka (6)
A photo of four volleyball players on a court. On the right, one play prepares to bump a ball coming in mid-air. Along with two of their teammates, they wear a white jersey and blue shorts. The other teammate in the background has a uniform in all blue and the number 5.
Leila Sicoli (5) and Citrine Lummer (11)
A photo of two volleyball players attentively watching an out-of-focus coach in the foreground on the right. The players wear white jerseys with a USA flag, dark blue shorts, and dark blue arm sleeves. Out of focus in the background are bleachers, with a banner hanging over the front that says "Tokyo".
Ella Gamble (2)

    Athletes

    Coaches & Administrative Staff

    The US Deaf Women’s Volleyball team spiked their way to a fifth place finish in Tokyo! Gamble, Zarembka, Lummer, Worley, and Sicoli entered the competition as part of the starting lineup. 

    Men’s Indoor Volleyball

    A photo of five volleyball players smiling and raising their arms up on the sideline. They are wearing dark blue and black striped jerseys. Four numbers are visible: 5, 6, 19, and 11. In the upper background is a banner with "Tokyo" and some Japanese kanji.
    Elian Zfati (5), Tyler Wascher (6), Cody Upchurch Jr. (19), and Zachary Bippus (11)
    A photo of 12 volleyball players and three coaches posing happily for the camera on a volleyball court in front of the net. 11 players are wearing white and gray striped jerseys with dark blue numbers. The other player has a dark blue jersey. In the right background a wall with "Tokyo Deaf" is visible.

    Athletes

    • Zachary Bippus | Student
    • Cody Upchurch Jr., ’22
    • Tyler Wascher | Student
    • Elian Zfati | Student

    Coaches

    The USA Deaf Men’s Volleyball team earned a fourth place finish. Bippus, Wascher, and Zfati picked up valuable experience after taking part in the first Gallaudet men’s volleyball season in over a decade during the 2024-25 academic year.

    Women’s Beach Volleyball

    Athletes

    • Cassandra Richter, E-’25

    Administrative Staff

    • Laurie Achin, ’03 & G-’08

    Cassie Richter and her teammate Kelsey Brandin placed 9th in their group, grinding out a win against Hungary.

    Wrestling

    A photo of wrestlers in action. A wrestler in a red uniform reading "USA" is being pulled down from behind by a wrestler in a blue uniform. In the background are two other wrestlers, with bleacher seats in the distance.
    Andrew Suarez

    Athletes

    Rutledge, Suarez, and Vega fought hard on behalf of Team USA, gaining valuable experience.

    USADSF Delegation

    Administrative Staff

    Want more deaf sports? Visit the Gallaudet Athletics website for stories and game information.

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