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June 11, 2008    

Men’s Middleweight Preview for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo, June 13-14

(Las Vegas, Nev.) – Each of the top candidates for the U.S. Olympic Team in the men’s 81kg and 90kg divisions brings past experience to mat when they take the floor at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo on Friday and Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The 90kg division will be held on Friday and includes former Athens teammates Brian Olson (Boulder, Colo. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) and Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) as well as Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett) – the 22-year-old who has staked his claim as the #1 player in the division.

At 81kg, watch Saturday as Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) and Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo) vie for a berth on the Olympic Team. While the top two players in the division hold European and Pan Am medals to their credit, neither has competed at the Games.

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

A preview of the men’s lightweight divisions is as follows:

Men’s 81kg

Aaron Cohen (blue) throws Travis Stevens (white) in the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open.

Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) won his first major senior tournament when he upset then-#1 Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo) in the finals of the 2006 U.S. Open. Now the #1 in the division, Stevens defeated Cohen in four of their five matches in 2007 and won gold at the 2007 Pan Am Games.

The two haven’t fought since October, however, when they split wins in back-to-back weeks at the U.S. Open and Rendez-Vous Canada.

This year, Stevens sat the Senior Nationals out and Cohen earned his fourth title, but Stevens looked no worse for the break from competition when he advance to his second straight Pan Am final in Miami.

Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett) enters the division as the #3 seed behind Stevens and Cohen. After three consecutive bronze medal wins at the Senior National Championships, St. Leger competed in his first final in April when he lost to Cohen. A member of the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team, St. Leger is one of the up-and-comers in the division and could make a breakthrough in Las Vegas.

While Cohen is the only athlete returning to the Trials in the 81kg division since 2004, Jose Bencosme (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) also has Trials experience, having fought in the 73kg division in 2004. Bencosme, a #6 seed, is one of three 81kg players from SJSU. Andrew Hung, a former Senior Nationals medalist, and Davor Vasiljevic are the #4 and #7 seeds, respectively.

Also watch for Ross MacBaisey (Atlanta, Ga. / Emory Judo) who made his first trip to the Senior Nationals podium in April when he and Bencosme both placed third.

Qualifiers at 81kg
1. Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo)
3. Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
4. Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
5. Ross MacBaisey (Atlanta, Ga. / Emory Judo)
6. Jose Bencosme (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Davor Vasiljevic (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
8. Danny Satinsky (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo)

Men’s 90kg

Brian Olson armbars Garry St. Leger in the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open.

With two players who won Pan Am medals in 2007 and a former World medalist, this division epitomizes how much

can change in four years.

In 2004, top-ranked Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett) was an 18-year-old junior player who fought 73kg. Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE) competed in his first Olympic Games as an 81kg player. And Brian Olson (Boulder, Colo. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) completed a career that had included nearly a World bronze medal and nearly 10 years as the top 90kg player in the United States.

Four years later, St. Leger is now the top 90kg seed after moving from up two divisions from 73kg to 90kg in 2005. Hawn moved up from 81kg in 2007 and both players won bronze medals at the Pan Am Championships and Games, respectively last summer. And Olson, who retired after the 2004 Games, is the #3 seed after coming out of retirement with a win at the 2007 U.S. Open in October.

As the #1 seed, St. Leger has the distinction of beating Olson during their last two meetings at the 2007 Rendez-Vous Canada and the Senior Nationals in April, but he has yet to beat Hawn. St. Leger and #2-ranked Hawn fought three times in one night at the Senior Nationals and Pan Am Trials in April 2007 with Hawn winning all three matches, but St. Leger was coming off shoulder injury and the two haven’t fought since. Olson, meanwhile, threw Hawn late in their semifinal at the Nationals this year during their only match.

Qualifiers at 90kg
1. Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
2. Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Brian Olson (Boulder, Colo. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Landry Ambouroue (North Richland Hills, Texas / Ruben Martin Judo Training Center)
5. Jacob Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif. / Redwood Coast Judo)
6. David Ellis (Roselle Park, N.J. / Cranford Judo)
7. Eric Duus (Saratoga, Calif. / Stanford Judo)
8. Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)