2 Fort Carson boxers bounced at trials

Fort Carson boxers Boyd Melson and Andrew Shepherd were eliminated today at the U.S. Olympic team trials in Houston.

Melson dropped a 24-14 decision against Charles Hatley in the welterweight division. He was outscored 4-0 in the fourth round.

“I knew he was a smart boxer,” Hatley said. “I kept him on the outside and used my reach. I beat him to a lot of punches.”

Shepherd suffered a 22-7 loss against two-time national champion Mike Wilson in the super-heavyweight division. He trailed 5-0 after the first round and 17-5 after three rounds.

“You have to have a good first round. You have to be winning or be even because you can’t dig yourself out of a hole,” Wilson said. “He was a big, strong guy, and I wanted to let him come at me. He was pretty tired, but I felt good.”

Fort Carson’s only remaining boxer, Christopher Downs, will face the winner of a light-heavyweight bout between Yathomas Riley and Angel Concepcion in Saturday’s first round of championship fights.

Downs topped Riley and Concepcion earlier this week at the trials. Since he’s undefeated, he has two chances to beat the challenger’s bracket winner. If necessary, the second round of championship fights will be held Sunday.

Olympic Training Center gets new director

Glen Werner Roseboom, a former assistant women's basketball coach at Colorado College, was promoted to director of the Olympic Training Center.

Roseboom received the appointment on the same day Tracy Lamb was named director of the OTC in Chula Vista, Calif. Both had previously served as OTC associate directors - Roseboom in Colorado Springs and Lamb in Lake Placid, N.Y.

"We are elevating two outstanding individuals," said Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "Both have proven their abilities to manage the needs of the athletes at our training centers and will be leaders as directors."

In 1997, Roseboom began working at the OTC as a resident life coordinator. She became central scheduling coordinator in 1998 and operations manager in 1999. She has supervised a 66-person staff since 2005, when she was appointed associate director.

Roseboom spent five seasons on the staffs of Debra Hunter, Julie Soriero and Kelly Mahlum at CC, most recently working the sidelines in 2003. She played in the 1993 Division III Final Four for the College of St. Benedict, a Catholic liberal arts school in St. Joseph, Minn. She holds a bachelor's degree in social work from the College of St. Benedict and a master's degree in sport management from Northern Illinois.

"This is a dream to me," Roseboom said of her new job at the OTC. "But one that I have prepared for, and I'm ready to begin this fascinating experience. Starting out as a coordinator in the OTC resident hall, I've seen this center from the ground up. There is no greater time than now to work for the USOC, especially as we lead into the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This is challenging, and with the talented staff we have in Colorado Springs, I feel we're up to that challenge."

USABA awarded grant

The Colorado Springs-based U.S. Association of Blind Athletes received a grant between $10,000 and $22,000 from the Olympic Opportunity Fund, which aims to increase diversity and youth participation in Olympic and Paralympic sports.

The recently created fund is part of a USOC objective to make the Olympic movement more relevant in American society through grassroots programs. Ten other sports organizations were awarded grants.

Founded in 1976, USABA has impacted more than 100,000 blind athletes. Its 3,000-plus members compete in nine sports, including cycling, judo and swimming.