South Florida International Athlete wows at Pan American Games
We want to congratulate Marcus Gomez, a South Florida Water Polo Club athlete residing in Colombia and spends his summers practicing at the club for his standout campaign for the Colombian 17u national team that recently finished fourth place overall at the Pan American Games that were hosted Medellín, Colombia.
Marcus was selected as the captain for the Colombian contingent that wowed on the international stage with several standout performances. The Los Cafeteros started their campaign on opening day with a nail-biting victory over the Argentinian national team 13-12, in the match Marcus posted 4 goals, 3 assists, 2 exclusions drawn, one steal and one field block. On the second game day, Marcus led the Colombian national team to another victory, this time over the Mexican team by a score of 14-10, Marcus put together a well-rounded performance with 3 goals, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 exclusions drawn. The following day the Colombians wowed with another big win 16-13 over the Peruvian national team, Marcus provided some necessary goals tacking on 2 goals and a steal. On the third day of competition Marcus and the Colombian national team trounced the Puerto Rican contingent by a score of 21-7, Marcus providing 2 goals, 3 steals as well as 2 drawn exclusions as the Colombians dominated the game from the second quarter the rest of the way. Gameday four brought the Colombians their first loss of the Pan Ams, however, it also proved to be one of the games of the tournament, the American national team managing to squeak out a victory over the host nation by a score of 9-7, Marcus led the Colombians from the front with a huge game across the board with 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 field blocks, 3 steals and one earned exclusion.
With a 3-1 record in the bracket stages, the Colombian national team earned a spot in the quarterfinals, where they crossed over with Chile on the fifth game day, the Colombians earned themselves a spot in the semifinal with a resounding 13-6 victory. Marcus filled the stat sheet once again with 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 steals and 6 earned exclusions, for his efforts Marcus was awarded the game MVP award by the Pan Ams delegation. With a big victory in the quarterfinals, Marcus helped lead the Colombians to a semifinal match up against the Brazilian national team the following day. The Colombians showed courage and heart but ultimately fell before the Brazilians by a score of 16-13, doing his best Marcus put away 3 goals, added 1 assist, tacked on 1 field block and drew one exclusion. In the third-place match on the last day of competition, the Colombians found themselves in a rematch of their bracket games against Team USA, however, this round proved fruitful for the Americans as they beat the Colombians handedly with a 21-9 score, Marcus exploded offensively firing in 6 goals, adding on 1 steal and providing 3 more drawn exclusions. The Colombians finished the 15u Pan American Games with a 5-3 record, 4th place finish and proved themselves competitive on the biggest international stage in the Americas.
Marcus finished the tournament as one of the standout athletes, earning a +44.1 +/- game rating per 6-8 stats, the official stat keepers for the Pan American Games, his +44.1 was good for the fourth overall +/- across all male athletes in the competition. Marcus finished the tournament with 26 goals on 61 shots, good for 42.6% shooting percentage, Marcus’ 26 goals was fourth overall in the tournament, 9 assists, 8 field blocks, 14 steals and 17 earned exclusions.
