POLK CITY, Fla. — Keith St. Onge and Regina Jaquess earned USA Water Ski's Male and Female Athletes of the Month awards for August. The athletes will now be considered for the United States Olympic Committee's Male and Female Athlete of the Month awards.

St. Onge, 23, of Brandon, Fla., won three gold medals in Men's barefooting at the Sixth World Games, August 24-26, in Akita, Japan. He scored 16.1 wake crossings and 6,850 points to win gold medals in slalom and tricks, respectively. Those scores, combined with a jump of 66 feet, secured St. Onge the overall gold medal with 2.792.61 points. St. Onge also won his third consecutive Open Men's national overall title at the Barefoot Water Ski National Championships, Aug. 14-18, in Fergus Falls, Minn. He finished first in slalom (19.6 wake crossings), second in tricks (6,500 points) and fifth in jumping (70.9 feet) to win the overall title with 2,872 points.

Jaquess, 17, of Suwanee, Ga., won Open Women national slalom and overall titles at the 2001 GOODE Water Ski National Championships, August 14-15, in Bakersfield, Calif. She rounded 3 buoys at 38 feet off to earn the slalom title and finished second in tricks (7,030 points) and fourth in jumping (156 feet) to secure the Open Women's overall title with 3,061.6 points. It is her seventh consecutive national overall title despite moving into the Open division for the first time this year. Her performance at the Nationals, combined with her scores achieved at the 2001 U.S. Water Ski Team Trials held last June in Seffner, Fla., led to her selection as one of six members of the 2001 U.S. Elite Water Ski Team. Jaquess is the youngest member of the team, which will represent the United States at the Water Ski World Championships, Sept. 24-30, in Recetto, Italy. She also was named USA Water Ski's Female Athlete of the Month in May and June of this year.