Innova’s Rising Stars – Four New Junior World Champions
Tomorrow’s Pros
At the 2024 PDGA World Championship held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, disc golf’s rising stars got to shine their brightest. The event showcased hundreds of talented young disc golfers from across the world vying for the most prestigious title for players their age. Congratulations to Team Innova’s Therese Cuevas (FJ15), Taaniel Mehine (MJ12), Eva Lutsenko (FJ12), and Nikko Forbes (MJ10) who each earned World Championship titles.
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Therese Cuevas (FJ15)
The FJ15 division of the 2024 PDGA World Championship was one of the closest competitions of the weekend. Team Innova’s Therese Cuevas found herself down three strokes to the leader after the second round, but came out on day three determined to close that gap. She shot the hot round of the event in her division at -5, but the field was still breathing down her neck. Going into both the semis and the finals, Therese had just a one stroke lead with multiple players in striking distance. In the end, Therese shot the best final nine of the group to win by two.
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Therese Cuevas already regularly wins in the FA1 division and has started competing (and succeeding) in FPO. Earlier this year, she even competed in her first Pro Tour event! We love to see young athletes pushing themselves to play against harder fields. Therese is doing a great job both learning how to win in Junior and Am divisions and learning what it will ultimately take to win in the Pros.
Taaniel Mehine (MJ12)
If you needed more confirmation that Estonia is a disc golf powerhouse, look no farther than Innova Junior Team member Taaniel Mehine. Taaniel won the 2024 Junior World Championship in the MJ12 division, shooting the hot round on each of the first four days of competition. In doing so, he opened up a huge lead over the field, allowing him to coast to victory through the semis and finals. His 14-stroke margin of victory over 2nd place was one of the widest in any division of the week.
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This is the fourth win of Taaniel’s young career, including 3 C-tiers and now a World Championship title. He averaged 972-rated for the tournament and is already 953-rated as a player. Yes, you read that right… Taaniel is over 950-rated and in the MJ12 division. Watch out for this kid!
Eva Lutsenko (FJ12)
Eva Lutsenko had to fight to earn her World Championship title. Competitor Nova Belanger came out very strong and held a lead through the first three rounds. Eva tied things up in the fourth round, but lost two strokes in the semi finals. That left just nine holes to mount her comeback. Eva started her final nine with a Bogey on a short hole where Nova took par – and the task to win became that much harder. But Eva showed she has more resilience and stick-to-itiveness than most players twice her age. She birdied four of the next five holes to move to one stroke off the lead with three to play. Going into the final hole, she was still down by one. In one of the most clutch moments so far in her career, Eva birdied the final hole. Nova took double bogey and Eva Lutsenko was crowned World Champion.
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This is Eva’s second Major title, the other being the FJ12 division of the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship earlier this year. She already has 18 career wins, including wins in the FPO division. Eva’s rating is up an insane 302 points since February of last year when she first received a player rating. It is hard to believe the trajectory of improvement that this new World Champion is on.
Nikko Forbes (MJ10)
Canadian mini-star Nikko Forbes won his World Championship title by a single stroke after a tight race all weekend with multiple players chasing the win. Nikko played tied for the lead or from behind almost the entire tournament. It was only in the final nine holes that he was able to inch out in front of his competitors. That kind of patience and persistence is the mark of a champion. In an event that is over five rounds long, you have to not shoot yourself out of it early and then clutch up when you see your opening for the win. That is exactly how Nikko played it. His turkey on holes 3-5 of the final nine gave him the lead and he held it from there to the finish.
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Nikko has 22 career wins out of 42 starts. His ratings history shows a steady climb over the past four years. Beyond his skills on the course, Nikko is one of the most engaged Juniors on social media that Team Innova has. Catch Nikko on his Instagram, where he has over 18,000 followers, ripping drives and drilling putts. He has everything it takes to be one of disc golf’s biggest personalities and best players down the line.
Promising Performances from Team Innova
In addition to our winners, Team Innova had athletes with notable performances in many divisions. In FJ18, one of the most competitive divisions of the tournament, Team Innova’s Ida Emilie Nesse came in 2nd and Rebecca Don came in 3rd. Hailey Huber came in 3rd in FJ15, just six strokes off the lead. In FJ12, Athena Cuevas took 3rd and in MJ15, Judah Berman got a 280-foot ace!
Four Champs from Three Countries & Both Coasts
Innova’s Junior World Champions show how international the future of disc golf will be. Nikko Forbes is from Canada, Taaniel Mehine is from Estonia, Eva Lutsenko is from South Carolina, and Therese Cuevas is from California. The top talent from the next generation is emerging across the globe. With the 2025 PDGA Pro Worlds being held in Finland, the sport is already embracing its new, more global reach. As that trend continues, expect players from more and more different nationalities topping Pro Tour and Major podiums.
The post Innova’s Rising Stars – Four New Junior World Champions appeared first on Innova Disc Golf.
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