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June 10, 2008    

Men’s Lightweight Previews for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo, June 13-14

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Known for big throws and lightning-fast action, the men’s lightweight divisions at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo include Pan Am Champions and World Cup medalists as well as a returning Olympian looking to make his second trip to the Games.

The lightweight competition will begin with the 66kg division which will be contested on Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.  The 60kg and 73kg divisions will be held on Saturday.

Media credential information can be found at www.usajudolasvegas.com. 

Men’s 60kg

Taraje Williams-Murray throws Ecuador to win bronze at the 2008 Pan Am Championships.  Photo Credit: Rafal Burza.

Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y. / NYAC / Spartak Sports Club) is the returning Olympian in the division after competing in the 2004

Olympic Games as a 19-year-old.  A four-time National Champion, Williams-Murray won his first Pan American Championships medal at this year’s event in Miami where he placed third and overcame a difficult draw to upset a top Cuban and qualify the division for the United States.

Since 2005, Williams-Murray has only lost to an American once, but that loss came in April to #2-ranked Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) at the USA Judo Senior National Championships in April.  Williams-Murray led throughout the match, but Kossor showed that a match – and a title – can be lost in an instant in judo when he countered Williams-Murray for ippon (instant win) to earn his first gold medal in the division.

Before Kossor meets Williams-Murray, however, he must advance through a potential semifinal match against 19-year-old Aaron Kunihiro (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE).  Kunihiro, a former 55kg player who hailed from Southern California before moving to Wakefield to train under former World Champion Jimmy Pedro, beat Kossor in three of their match-ups prior to the Senior Nationals, but Kossor won their semifinal match in Virginia Beach en route to his gold medal.

Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) enters the tournament as the #4 seed with the advantage of having beaten both Kunihiro and Kossor in 2007.

Qualifiers at 60kg

1. Taraje Williams-Murray (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

2. Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

3. Aaron Kunihiro (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

4. Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

5. Jeff Sato (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

6. Jeff Fujimoto (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

7. Dan Gomez (College Station, Texas / Texas A & M Judo)

8. Kyle Taketa (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo)

Men’s 66kg

Taylor Takata fought Sasha Mehmedovic at the 2008 Pan Ams.

Considered one of the divisions with the most depth in the United States, any number of players could qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team as most of the top athletes have traded wins and losses.

Taylor Takata (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) is the top-ranked player in the division who will be making his second trip to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.  In 2004, Takata was a two-time Pan Am Champion, but when the United States didn’t qualify the division for the Athens Games, Takata moved up to 66kg and won the 2004 Nationals.  Just weeks out from the Trials, a slot opened up for the United States at 60kg, but Takata chose to compete in the 66kg division.  Although he lost to the eventual Olympian Takata has gone on to become one of the best players in the division. 

Takata (blue) and Justin Flores (white) fought at the 2007 Senior Nationals.

Takata’s most difficult match of the day could come against Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center), a two-time World Team member, who he might face in a semifinal match at the Trials as Flores is ranked fourth and will be on the same side of the bracket as Takata who he beat at the 2007 Senior Nationals.

On the other side of the bracket are Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute) and Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center), both of whom are former top 60kg players who have had success at the heavier weight as well. 

Torra won their last match at the Senior Nationals in April, but Liggett took the win when they fought at the 2007 U.S. Open in October. 

Qualifiers at 66kg:

1. Taylor Takata (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

2. Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

3. Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)

4. Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

5. Jeff Fong (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

6. Daniel Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri)

7. Joseph Hashimoto (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

8. Tanner Singh (Plano, Texas / Dallas Judo)

Men’s 73kg

Ryan Reser reacts to throwing Chuck Jefferson in the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open.

After two stints as an Olympic Team alternate behind former World Champion Jimmy Pedro, Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) is the top seed and the favorite in the division as a three-time Pan Am Champion and three-time World Cup medalist. 

That said, in a sport where anything can happen, Reser could be challenged by third-ranked Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) who has had a back-and-forth rivalry with Reser for nearly a decade.  Jefferson has beaten Reser twice during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, but would likely need to beat Reser three times on the day to win the Olympic Team berth as a win by Jefferson in the main draw would force a best-of-three evening fight-off between the two players.

If they both advance out of the first round, also watch for an exciting semifinal between Jefferson and Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute).  While Jefferson is a veteran of both domestic and international competition, 22-year-old Eldred had a breakout year in 2007 with five trips to international podiums.

Fourth and fifth seeds Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) and Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) will get to revisit their bronze medal match from the 2007 U.S. Open in the first round of the Trials.  Both athletes are former Senior Nationals silver medalists with Delpopolo placing second in 2007 and Brestyan earning his silver in 2006.  After a loss to Reser in the semifinals of the U.S. Open in October, Brestyan dropped down to the bronze medal match where he beat Delpopolo.  Although he holds the advantage of having the most recent win, Brestyan has been injured since fall and the Trials will be his first return to competition. 

Bobby Lee (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) may enter the division as only a #6 seed, but the former top junior player upset Jefferson in the finals of both the Nationals in April and the 2006 U.S. Open.  Lee is consistently in the mix and could capitalize on anyone’s mistakes.

Qualifiers at 73kg

1. Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

2. Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute)

3. Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

4. Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

5. Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

6. Bobby Lee (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)

7. RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo)

8. Bill Shanahan (Rexford, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)