Little League World Series Alumni Chris Drury And Krissy Wendell Win Silver Medals At Winter Olympics

Print

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Feb. 25, 2002) – Chris Drury and Krissy Wendell, who received their first exposure to international sports at the Little League Baseball World Series, helped the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams to silver medals at the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Mr. Drury played for Trumbull National Little League of Trumbull, Conn., in the 1989 Series, leading his team to the world championship. He pitched in the final game, scattering five hits, as Trumbull defeated Kang-Tu Little League of Chinese Taipei, 5-2. He played center on the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team.

Ms. Wendell played for Brooklyn Center Little League of Brooklyn Center, Minn., in the 1994 Series, leading her team to a tie for third place in the U.S. At the time, Ms. Wendell was the fifth girl to play in the Little League Baseball World Series, and the first to start at the catcher position. She played 18 innings as a catcher, committing only two errors, and batted third. She played forward on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team.

Mr. Drury and Ms. Wendell each played in all six games for their teams. Both U.S. teams were defeated in the gold medal games by Canada.

“We’re proud that Chris and Krissy represented the United States so well at the Olympics,” Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball, said. “We’re also proud that the teamwork that was essential in leading them to the pinnacle of international youth sports competition has led them to the pinnacle of Olympic sport.”

Mr. Drury won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s top player in 1998 after his senior year at Boston University. He went on to play for the Colorado Avalanche and win the National Hockey League’s Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie, in the 1998-99 season. In the 2000-01 season, he led Colorado to the Stanley Cup.

Ms. Wendell was named Ms. Hockey for Minnesota after her senior year at Park Center High School in 1999-00, scoring 110 goals in 27 games. She tallied 72 points (37 goals, 35 assists) for the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team during the 2000-01 season, and was honored with the USA Hockey Women's Player of the Year Award at the 2001 USA Hockey Annual Congress. She received the Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international competition at the 2000 USA Hockey Annual Congress.

The Little League Baseball World Series for 11-12-year-olds, which was first played in 1947, is played annually in Williamsport, Pa. The 56th Little League Baseball World Series will be played Aug. 16-25, 2002. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth sports program, with approximately 2.8 million children and 1 million volunteers in every U.S. state and 103 other countries.