Indiana Racquetball Association

Shanae and Sharon compete at USAR Junior Olympic Championships.

Mrs Dees and Miss Jackson

Shanae Dees (Taylor) and Sharon Jackson competed in the 35^th USAR Junior Olympic Championships held in Concord, California on June 23-30. The event was held at the Big C Athletic Club, about forty miles miles from San Francisco. Sharon and Shanae brought home five medals. 

Shanae Dees, daughter of Al and Diane Taylor, competed in the 18 and under division in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. She teamed up with Rachel Smith from Colorado to take a Bonze medal in the Girls doubles. Shanae and Nathan Lott from Maryland won the bronze medal in the Mixed 18’s division.

Shanae married Corlis Dees the III on July 12 and will continue her education this fall at Heron School of Art.

Sharon Jackson, daughter of Frances Jackson, won the juniors triple crown with gold medals in 18 and under singles, doubles and mixed doubles. She was seeded #1 in each event and did not lose a game in fourteen matches

Sharon's wins in the event places her on the official US Jr. Team. She will compete in both singles and doubles in the Jr. World tournament held in Tempe, Arizona in December, 2008. Sharon was already an honorary member of the USA Jr. Racquetball team after winning the National High School title in the spring.

In mixed doubles Sharon and Taylor Knoth from Oregon repeated as National High School Champions to win gold in Mixed 18 and under, beating other 10 teams. In girls doubles, Sharon and Shannon Ingelsby from Oregon defeated the second ranked team from California and Arizona in a tiebreaker to win the gold medal.

Sharon beat Cheryl Lotts from Ohio for the national singles title. Along the way, she beat Teresa Diaz from California in a tough match, winning the tiebreaker. Sharon has now won 14 national titles and 1 World title.

After the tournament, USA Jr. Head Coach Kelly Beane announced Sharon as the “National Racquetball Female Jr. Athlete of the Year”. The players, Jr. racquetball council and national staff nominated her for this honor.

Sharon will attend the University of Alabama this fall and will compete as a member of their racquetball team. The University of Alabama team is a national power, winning two of the last three national titles.

Sharon will compete in the Open and Professional divisions of the US Open Championships in Memphis Tennessee this October. She also will be in the collegiate competition in March 2009.