Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Year: 2017

Mariah Holguin

Judo

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  France

Mariah Holguin is a Junior at Johnson High School. Mariah is ranked Internationally at 57kg for Senior and U21. Mariah is the top ranked U18 and U21 athlete at 57kg in the U.S.. She is ranked 3rd on the Senior Elite Roster at 57kg. She was a member of the Johnson Band during her Freshman and Sophomore years. As a result of her travel and competition schedule she was not able to continue in the band. For her age Mariah has impressive portfolio of countries that she has traveled: France x2, Belgium, Abu Dhabi, Sarajevo, England, Japan, and Canada, Cyprus, Peru, El Salvador. Mariah was a member of the 2015 Cadet World Team and the 2015 Junior World Team.

Experience:

2017-57kg
2017 US Senior Nationals-2nd place
2017 Lima Open-3rd Place
2017 US Scholastic Nationals-U18 2nd place
2017 Texas State Championships U18,U21,and Senior1st place
2016-57kg
2016 Sambo Cadet World Championships Bronze Medal
USA Judo U18 National Champion
USA Judo U21 National Champion
2016 USA Judo Scholastic Nationals Outstanding Athlete Award
US Senior Nationals-5th place
USA Judo Junior Olympic U18 National Champion
USA Judo U21 International Champion
2015-52kg
USA Judo U18, U21- 2nd place
USA Judo Automatic Black Belt promotion
US Senior Nationals -3rd place
USA Judo Cadet World Team – Sarajevo, Bosnia
USA Judo Junior World Team- Abu Dhabi UAE
England Judo National Training Camp participant
2014-48kg
USA Judo Scholastic Nationals- 2nd place
USA Judo Junior Olympics- 1st place
USA Judo Junior Olympics U18 International-2nd place

Jim Hrbek

Judo

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  France

8TH DEGREE BLACK BELT – USA JUDO

Positions
Chairman – High Performance Committee – USA Judo
USA Judo National Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Universal Judo
San Antonio, TX

Certifications
USA Judo International Gold Level Coach
US Judo Association Master Coach
US Judo Association Master Rank Examiner
Previous Administrative Positions
Junior High Performance Director – USA Judo – 2002-2017
Member USJI National Coaching Staff 1983-present
Chairman, Coaching and Training Committee of USJudo, Inc (1983-1992 and 1996-1997)
Co-ordinator for Women’s Judo, USJudo, Inc (1986- 1992)
Chairman, Women’s Selection Committee, USJudo, Inc (1986-1992)
Member, USJudo Inc Development Committee (1986- 1992)
Member USJudo, Inc Junior Committee (1988-1992)
Member USJudo Association Board of Directors (1980- 1984 approx.)
First President/ Founder of New York State Judo, Inc (1980-1982 approx.)

Honors and Awards
1992 Head Coach – US Women’s Olympic Judo Team
1986 United States Judo Association Coach of the Year
1986 Southland “Olympia” Award – first Coach recipient in any sport
2005 United States Olympic committee – National Judo Coach of the Year
2011 United States Olympic Committee Overall Development Coach of the Year

Memberships
Mensa
Intertel

Chloe Kim

Snowboarding

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  South Korea

Chloe Kim is an American snowboarder. Currently, she is World, Olympic, Youth Olympic, and X Games champion in the halfpipe and the first to win the title at all four major events.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal when she won the gold in the snowboard halfpipe at 17 years old. She is a 4x X Games gold medalist and the first woman to win two gold medals in snowboarding at the Winter Youth Olympics.

She began snowboarding at the age of four and began competing 2 years later before beginning training in Geneva, Switzerland from eight to ten. She joined the US Snowboarding Team in 2013 at 12. In 2018, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2018.

Rose Monday

Track & Field

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Morocco

Rose Monday is currently the women’s USATF head coach. 20 years ago, became UTSA Track and Field coach. When she began coaching in 2001, she was training for the 2001 World Masters Championship and became an 800-meter champion that same year.

In 2004 at an annual meeting, she was selected as an assistant coach to the World Indoor Championship team in Budapest before going on to be selected for the World University games, the head coach for the World Juniors in Beijing, and in 2012 was selected as an assistant women’s coach for USA Track and Field Olympic games.

She will be the head track and field coach for women at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.

Maggie Vessey

Track & Field

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Morocco

Maggie Vessey is an American athlete who competes in middle distance track events. She represented the US at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and 2011 World Championships in Athletics in 800m.

While competing for Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Vessey was the Big West Conference 800m champion twice. She finished second in the 800m at the 2005 NCAA championships. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Vessey finished 5th in the 800m. She ran her fastest 400m times of 52.82 at the 2014 Occidental Invite. In 2015, she won the gold medal at the IAAF World Championships breaking a national record.

Jeneba Tarmoh

Track & Field

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Uganda

Jeneba Tarmoh is a track and field sprinter who specializes in 100 meters and 200 meters. Tarmoh was an All-American for Texas A&M University, helping them with back to back to back wins in the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships 2009-11 seasons. She came in third at the 2011 USA National Outdoor Championships, earning her a place on the 2011 IAAF World Championships team.

At the 2012 Olympic Trials, Tarmoh finished third tying with Allyson Felix for third place in the 100m finals. Tarmoh traveled to London as a reserve on the US team and ran the second leg of the women’s 4 x 100 meter relay. She received a gold medal for setting a world record in winning the finals.

Vladimir Radmanovic

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Kazakhstan

Born in 1980 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vladimir Radmanovic was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft. Playing with Seattle until 2006, Radmanovic then played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Charlotte Bobcats, the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Bulls. Over the course of his 15 years in the NBA, Radmanovic started 213 games as a Power and Small Forward, averaging 8 points per game.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Ethiopia

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson began his career at Chester high school, where he led the Clippers to PIAA Class AAAA state titles in 2011 and 2012, and a runner-up showing in 2013.

During his college career, Jefferson played two seasons at Arizona (2013-15), helping the Wildcats to consecutive Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He was named First Team All-Pac-12 and selected to Pac-12 All-Defensive Team by the coaches and Earned Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team honors.

In 2015, Jefferson was a first round draft pick (23rd overall) by Portland. He was then traded by Portland, along with with Steve Blake to Brooklyn, for Pat Connaughton and Mason Plumlee. In 2019, Jefferson signed as a free agent with Toronto. In the 2019-20 season, Jefferson posted averages of 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 18.7 minutes in 60 games with Toronto.

Neal Meyer

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Jordan

Neal Meyer is a former NBA Assistant Coach with the Clippers and Trailblazer, as well as working a video coordinator and camp director for the Denver Nuggets’ offseason youth camps. He got his NBA start when he held the position of assistant video coordinator and camp director for the San Antonio Spurs in 1994. Meyer served as Head Coach for the Clippers entry in the 2006 Las Vegas Summer League and enjoys coaching and teaching internationally during his offseasons. He joined the NBA to oversee part of their Europe and Middle Eastern operations in 2010 before becoming Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations in EMEA in 2017.

Elvis Valcarcel

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2017  –  Guyana
  • 2017  –  Suriname

Elvis Valcarcel begins his third season with the Pelicans, his second as an assistant coach coach after serving as a special assistant to the head coach during the 2015-16 season. Valcarcel joined the Pelicans after serving as the video coordinator for the Sacramento Kings from 2013-15. Before joining the Kings, Valcarcel was the video coordinator for the Phoenix Suns from 2009-13 after serving as the assistant video coordinator during the 2008-09 season. While with the Suns, Valcarcel also was an assistant coach for the Suns’ NBA Summer League squad in 2010 and 2012 and did advance scouting in 2011 and 2012. Valcarcel was also the video coordinator for the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 when they won the WNBA championship. Prior to Phoenix, Valcarcel worked two years as an administrative assistant/video coordinator for the men’s basketball program at Seton Hall University. From Union City, N.J., Valcarcel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Rutgers University.