COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) today named wrestler Dremiel Byers and Paralympic swimmer Erin Popovich as Male and Female Athletes of the Month for April. The Team of the Month honor was awarded to the U.S. Elite Water Ski Team. Byers (Fort Carson, Colo.) won the gold medal at 120kg and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the men's Greco-Roman division at the U.S. National Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 9-10. In the finals, he defeated No. 1 seed Rulon Gardner by a 3-1 margin, claiming his fourth career U.S. Nationals title. By winning the event, Byers becomes the No. 1 seed and advances directly to the Championship Series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling in Indianapolis, Ind., May 21-23. The U.S. Nationals saw Byers win four matches, two by technical fall and one over Paul Devlin, 4-0. USA Ice Hockey's Phillip Kessel (Madison, Wis.) came in second in the voting for Male Athlete of the Month. Kessel was the second leading scorer in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship with 10 points in six games. He led the tournament in goals and also ranked first on the U.S. squad in point and goal scoring. Kessel tallied at least one point in each contest, and notched a hat trick in Team USA's 9-0 victory over Belarus. He registered six power-play goals and two game-winners en route to the silver medal and a 5-1-0 overall record in the tournament. Kessel's scoring outburst pushed his season goal total to 52 and helped him break the USA Hockey National Team Development Program's single-season goal-scoring record. Sled Hockey's Joe Howard (Kingston, Mass.), who finished third in the voting, is the captain of the USA Sled Hockey Team that earned the silver medal at the 2004 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championships, April 17-24, and a berth at the 2006 Paralympic Games in Turin, Italy. His leadership skills helped propel a team in transition to the Paralympics by bringing together the players of varying age and ability levels and instilling in them a sense of pride and purpose. Popovich (Fort Collins, Colo.) broke two world records in the S7 women's classification during the Paralympic Swimming Trials, April 22-24, in Minneapolis. On the first day of competition she set new world marks in the 50m freestyle and the 50m butterfly, setting American and Pan American records in those events as well. On the second day of competition, Popovich set new American and Pan American marks in the 200m individual medley and the 100m breaststroke, missing the world record in the IM by only .06 seconds. She set an American record in the 100m freestyle on the final day of competition, finishing the meet with two world records, four Pan American records and five American records in addition to winning all five of her events. Water skier Regina Jaquess was runner up for the Female Athlete of the Month. Jaquess led the medal haul for the U.S. with seven individual medals, including five gold, at the 2004 Pan American Water Ski Championships, April 7-11, in Lima, Peru. In the open women's competition, she won a gold medal in tricks and silver medals in slalom and overall. In the Under-21 competition, Jaquess, 19, swept gold medals in women's slalom, tricks, jumping and overall. Her performances helped both the U.S. Elite and Under-21 squads win overall team titles. Third in the women's voting was wrestler Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Marano won the gold medal at 63kg and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women's division at the U.S. National Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev., April 9-10. In the finals, she pinned defending national champion and No. 1 seed Sara McMann to claim her sixth career U.S. Nationals title. By winning the event, Marano becomes the No. 1 seed and advances directly to the Championship Series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling in Indianapolis, Ind., May 21-23. Marano won four matches at the National Championships, one by technical fall, one with a pin, and in the semifinals she defeated Sally Roberts, 5-4. The U.S. Elite Water Ski Team captured the open team gold medal at the 2004 Pan American Water Ski Championships, April 7-11, in Lima, Peru. The USA accumulated 8,692.79 points, defeating runner-up Canada by more than 200 points. Elite Team members won a total of 12 individual medals, including four gold. Team members included Regina Jaquess (Suwanee, Ga.), Rhoni Barton (Orlando, Fla.), Brandi Hunt (Clermont, Fla.), Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.), Jimmy Siemers (Round Rock, Texas) and Karen Truelove (Winter Garden, Fla.). In second place in Team of the Month voting was the U.S. National Under-18 Hockey Team. Team USA posted a 5-1-0 record and captured the silver medal after falling to Russia, 3-2, in the gold-medal game at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship. The Americans earned wins over Denmark, 5-2, Sweden, 6-2, Belarus, 9-0, Canada, 2-1, and the Czech Republic, 3-2, before facing Russia. Team USA registered 27 goals while allowing only 10 and scored 17 power-play goals to lead all teams in the tournament. The USA Sailing Men's Team finished third in the voting. John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree claimed three medals during April. The pair won the Tornado class at the Princess Sofia Regatta the first week of April in a fleet of 53 boats. The 10-race series, sailed in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, April 3-9, was a warm-up for the Tornado World Championship. The World Championships were held April 10-18 and counted 62 entries from 24 nations in the final qualifying event for the 2004 Olympic Regatta. Lovell and Ogletree won the silver medal with a performance that included winning two races in the nine-race series, a personal best for the duo. At the Semaine Olympique Francaise, April 22-May 1, in Hyeres, France, they won their second silver medal after placing first four times in the 11-race series. Results (first place votes in parentheses) MEN 1. Dremiel Byers, wrestling, 26 (5) 2. Phillip Kessel, ice hockey, 22 (4) 3. Joe Howard, sled hockey, 16 (4) Also receiving first place votes: Jimmy Siemers, Water Skiing WOMEN 1. Erin Popovich, paralympic swimming, 18 (3) 2. Regina Jaquess, water skiing, 14 (2) 3. Kristie Marano, wrestling, 13 (3) Also receiving first place votes: Natalie Darwitz, Ice Hockey; Lisa Leslie, Basketball; Jennifer Nichols, Archery TEAM 1. U.S. Elite Water Ski Team 25 (5) 2. U.S. Hockey Under-18 National Team 22 (4) 2. USA Sailing Men's Team 20 (3) Also receiving first place votes: Men's Archery European Grand Prix Team