In July, the 2016 Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) Junior National 9-Ball Championships qualified 14 billiard student-athletes to represent North America as part of Team USA at the upcoming WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) Junior 9-Ball Championships. On November 16-20, 2016, the prestigious annual world event will take place in Shanghai, China for the third consecutive year.
Through the support of the Billiard Congress of America (BCA), the BEF continues to coordinate international travel and participation for this tournament, a tradition it has carried on for the past two decades.
The following players will proudly represent the United States in 2016:
1. Ricky Evans, age 15 (St. Peters, MO)
2. Nathan Diederich, age 18 (Victorville, CA)
3. Travis Southard, age 17 (Reidsville, NC)
4. Nathan Childress, age 14 (North Chesterfield, VA)
5. Mahkeal Parris, age 14 (Kingshill, St. Croix, USVI)
6. Joey Tate, age 11 (Lake Villa, IL)
7. Evan Swett, age 16 (Wichita, KS)
8. April Larson, age 16 (Bloomington, MN)
9. Michelle Jiang, age 16 (Harvard, MA)
10. Hailey Fullerton, age 16 (Lake Park, MN)
11. Ashley Fullerton, age 14 (Lake Park, MN)
12. Vivian Liu, age 14 (Harvard, MA)
13. Serena Black, age 18 (Warrensburg, IL)
14. Emily Herpel, age 16 (Freehold, NY)
Along with the lineup of talent from the U.S., Canadian players Nicholas Ridley and Waleed Hasheem will also be representing North America at the Junior World Championships.
Fundraisers are currently being held around the country to support these fine players on their quest for a world title. For more information on how you can help them on their journey, contact the BEF office at (303) 926-1039 or visit billiardeducation.org.
