Steve Geffrard and Andrecia Wasson are Named USA Boxing’s 2010 Athletes of the Year

(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Steve Geffrard (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Andrecia Wasson have been named USA Boxing’s 2010 Male and Female Athletes of the Year following their outstanding performances in 2010. Geffrard claimed gold medals in every major national championship in 2010, surprising many of the well-known names and defending champions along the way. Wasson made history in 2010 by becoming only the second women’s world champion from the United States since the inception of the event, winning welterweight gold at the 2010 Women’s World Championships.

Geffrard, a student at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida, kicked off his phenomenal year at the 2010 National Golden Gloves Championships in Little Rock, Ark., in May. Geffrard defeated Under 19 National Champion Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) and defending national champion Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.) en route to his first national title of the year. Geffrard followed his May victory with a second gold medal at the 2010 USA Boxing National Championships in July at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Once again, Geffrard’s route to the top of the medal stand included wins over a string of former or current national champions. The Florida native repeated his Golden Gloves victories over both Shimmell and Temple to set up a championship bout match-up with former Golden Gloves national champion and 2008 Olympic Training Partner Sijuola Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.). Geffrard closed the event with a 15-6 decision over Shabazz to win his second straight national title in the heavyweight division.

The then 19-year-old earned the top spot in the nation with his victory at the USA Boxing National Championships to become the heavyweight representative on the U.S. squad at the 2010 European Challenge in England and Italy. He celebrated his 20th birthday on the trip prior to earning an 11-9 win over Italy’s Biagio Imbesi in the opening night of the USA vs. Italy Dual in Rome. Geffrard faced off with two-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Clemente Russo of Italy in the second bout of the event and dropped a close, two-point decision on Russo’s home soil, announcing his arrival on the international heavyweight scene.

Geffrard closed the year with his third straight national title at the 2010 National PAL Championships, the first qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He once again marched through the competition to sweep all three major national championship events in 2010 and punch his ticket for the Olympic Team Trials. He joined 2007 World Champion and two-time U.S. Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) as the only two boxers to complete the three-peat.

Wasson enjoyed a historic 2010, culminating in her gold medal victory at the 2010 Women’s World Championships in Barbados. The 18-year-old boxer won her second straight national title at the USA Boxing National Championships in July to earn a berth on the U.S. squad at the World Championships, in September in Bridgetown, Barbados. Wasson claimed five international victories in her world championships debut, despite the competition being the deepest in the event’s history with over 300 athletes from 75 countries competing in the tournament. She faced off with World Championships silver medalist Ting Ting Yang of China in the semifinals, winning the bout by a convincing 25-4 margin to move on to the final round and a bout with Youth European Champion Savannah Marshall of England. Wasson pulled out a 5-4 victory in the final round contest to win welterweight gold.

Her gold medal in Barbados is only the second for a U.S. boxer in the history of the event, which took place for the first time in 2001 in Scranton, Pa. Wasson’s world title was the first for an American boxer since 2001, when Devonne Canady won gold in the heavyweight division.

Wasson who currently trains at Warriors Boxing Club in southwest Detroit, boxes in honor of her first trainer, Mickey Goodwin, who passed away last year of a stroke at age 51. While she currently doesn’t compete in one of the three Olympic weight divisions, which will be contested for the first time at the 2012 Olympic Games in London; she is considering dropping down to the lightweight division to make a run at Olympic gold.

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).