ARCHERY
Americans led both men's and women's competition through the qualification rounds.

Vic Wunderle (Mason City, Ill.) was tops among the men, followed by Guy Krueger (Blessing, Texas). Jennifer Nichols (Cheyenne, Wyoming) took the top spot for the women.

Wunderle had a score of 1,321, 21 ahead of Krueger. 1984 Olympian Glenn Meyers (Grand Rapids, Mich.) finished fourth with 1293.

Nichols was first at 1,314 points, while Stephanie Miller (Naperville, Ill.) finished the qualification round in fifth at 1,278. Janet Dykman (El Monte, Calif.) took 13th with 1,234.

BADMINTON
Howard Bach (San Francisco) and Kevin Han (Orange, Calif.) got out to a fast start and beat Canada's Mike Beres and Kyle Hunter in the semifinals, 15-7, 15-8.

They will face the Guatemalan team of Erick Anguiano and Pedro Yang, who defeated Jamaica 15-11, 5-15, 17-14.

May Mangkalakiri (Garden Grove, Calif.) and Rajiv Rai (Orange, Calif.) were stopped by the top seeded mixed doubles team of Denyse Julien and Phillippe Bourret of Canada 15-8, 15-7. The Americans' semifinal finish earned them a bronze medal.

BOXING
Featherweight Aaron Garcia (Vista, Calif.) beat Cuba's Yosvani Aguilera Zamora 16-14 in a semifinal bout. Garcia held a slim one-point advantage going into both the second and third rounds, but Zamora tied the score at 11 as they went into the fourth and deciding round. Garcia now advances to the championship bout where he will face Likar Ramos Concha of Colombia.

Devin Vargas (Toledo, Ohio) lost his heavyweight bout to Kertson Manswell of Trinidad and Tobago, 14-12.

EQUESTRIAN
The U.S. team had a strong day, placing all four riders in the top 10 of show jumping. Overall, the Americans had only 1.66 faults, while Mexico was second at 6.87.

Michelle Navarro of Peru won the individual qualifier, just ahead of Margie Engle (Wellington, Fla.). Another U.S. rider, Lauren Hough, also of Wellington, finished third. The remaining two U.S. competitors were in the top 10: Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) in fifth, and Chris Kappler (Pittstown, N.J.) in ninth.

Gold and silver medalists will earn a spot at the Athens Olympics, as will the team with the best overall score of its four members.

FIELD HOCKEY
Argentina beat the United States 3-1 for the women's gold medal a berth in the Athens Olympics. The Americans must try to qualify through a tournament in New Zealand in March.

Uruguay edged Chile 7-6 to win the bronze medal in women's play. Chile also lost the men's bronze to Cuba 6-2.

Argentina defeated Canada 1-0 for men's gold to avenge a loss to the Canadians in the '99 games in Winnipeg.

SOFTBALL
The perennial gold medalist U.S. women allowed their first run of the Pan Ams and struggled against a 16-year-old Floridian in defeating the Dominican Republic 2-1.

The victory, helped greatly by a three-base error in the final inning, lifted the Americans into Thursday night's gold medal game. Winners of the only two Olympic tournaments, the last four Pan Ams and the last five world championships, the Americans were led by the three-hit pitching of Jennie Finch, who fanned 15.

In men's play, Canada edged the United States 3-2. The Canadians, 2-0 against the Americans in these Pan Ams, qualified for the gold medal game and could meet the U.S. team again.

SQUASH
The U.S. women advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 win over Brazil. The American men's side lost to Canada and Brazil and was eliminated from medal contention.

Latasha Khan (Seattle, Wash.), who won the individual gold on Tuesday, beat Brazil's No. 1 seed, Karen Redfern, 3-2. Louisa Hall (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Meredith Quick (Denver, Colo.) each won their games 3-0, to help the Americans advance. The men's team, consisting of Damian Walker (Stamford, Conn.), Preston Quick (Denver, Colo.), and Tim Wyantt (Cincinnati, Ohio) lost to both matches 3-0.

SWIMMING
The U.S. team had a pair of 1-2 finishes.

Elizabeth Hill (Atlanta) and Morgan Hentzen (La Habra Heights, Calif.) went 1-2 in the 400-meter freestyle. Hill finished in a personal-best 4:10.48 to break Sippy Woodhead's 1979 Pan American record. The gold was Hill's first individual medal in international competition.

Diana MacManus (Irvine, Calif.) won the 100 backstroke, just ahead of Courtney Shealy (Columbia, S.C.).

Argentina's Jose Meolans won the men's 100 freestyle ahead of George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago.

Later Wednesday, Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.) opened the winning women's 400-meter freestyle relay with a 54.46, making her the fourth-fastest American in the history of the event. Christina Swindle (Miami), Colleen Lanne (Tucson, Ariz.) and Shealy were also on the team that finished in 3:41.93 to break the 1995 Pan Ams record (3:44.71).

TABLE TENNIS
Gao Jun Chang (Gaithersburg, Md.) won the gold medal 11-7 in the seventh and deciding set over Xue Wu of the Dominican Republic. Chang already has earned a spot in the Olympics.

Tawny Banh (San Gabriel, Calif.) got the bronze.

VOLLEYBALL
The U.S. men's volleyball team lost to Cuba in the men's semifinals, a five-set thriller in which the Cubans rallied for victory as the Americans tired. Brook Billings of Santa Barbara, Calif., scored 20 points on 18 kills and two blocks in the 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 15-8 defeat. Yassel Portuondo scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures for Cuba, which advanced to the gold medal match Friday night, while the Americans will play for bronze.

WEIGHTLIFTING
Cuba, Colombia and Ecuador won gold medals in weightlifting, and the Americans came up empty.

At 69 kilograms, Yordany Borrero of Cuba was the winner. In women's events, Mabel Mosquera of Colombia took the 53-kilo class, and the 58-kilo division went to Maria Escobar of Ecuador.

Carrie Boudreau of South Portland, Maine, who scheduled her chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer around the games, finished seventh in the 58-kilogram class.