Member News
June 3, 2006
Texas Athletes Win Benito Juarez Championships in Mexico City
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – After winning a silver medal at the 2005 Benito Juarez Championships, Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site/52kg) returned to Mexico City to win her first title at the event, the second stop on this year’s Pan American Circuit.
“I’ve been here before, so this time around I knew what to expect,” Lafon said after her win. “It’s Mexico City and they’re known for the altitude, so it definitely affected us, but I just wanted to go out and end my matches as quickly as I could.”
Lafon defeated three players from Mexico en route to her gold medal, including wins by ippon (instant win) over Marcela Hernandez and Elisa Zuniga as well as a victory by yuko (quarter-point) against Evangelina Garcia.
With the gold medal, Lafon, a 25-year-old who returned to the sport in 2004 after an eight-year hiatus, moves up to the #2-ranking on the USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster.
“I’ve only been at the training site in Harlingen for about six months now, but I’ve improved a lot working with Israel,” Lafon said of her coach Israel Hernandez, a two-time Olympic medalist for Cuba and a coach for the 2006 Pan American Championship Team. “He’s done a lot for me and we’re expecting big things for me this year.”
Fellow Texan Landry Ambouroue (North Richland Hills, Texas/Ruben Martin/90kg) also won his first gold medal at this event. After a first-round walkover, Ambouroue threw Efrain Sanchez (MEX) with a legpick to advance to the final match against Erik Duus (Saratoga, Calif./Stanford Judo). Although Ambouroue picked up two penalties, he defeated his teammate with two yukos and a koka (smallest points).
“I think I fought well. I was really ready for this event and was confident going in,” Ambouroue said. “I’m kind of used to the altitude, having trained in Colorado, but it’s different here. It’s hot and it hurts to breathe, but the training I had back home helped me through the whole day.”
After advancing through the first two rounds with wins against Mexicans Monica Ojeda and Monica Carrillo, Yvonne Carrera (Whittier, Calif./Mojica/63kg) lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Emilie Grandon (CAN).
Carrera then dropped down to the bronze medal match where she lost to Tess Lanzarotta (CAN) and finished fifth.
Brenna Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club/48kg), a #2-ranked junior, also finished fifth. Clark drew a first round bye and threw and pinned Alejandra Valdez (MEX) to advance to the semis where she lost to Lolita Dahger, a silver medalist at last year’s Canadian Nationals.
Clark then lost in the bronze medal match to Merys Mejia (DOM) who recently moved up from the 44kg divison where she was a bronze medalist at last year’s Central American Championships of the Carribean.
Brenna’s sister Tara Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club/57kg) also competed well as she and Sasha Liege (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mojica/78kg) each finished third in her round-robin division.
Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site/44kg) finished fifth in one of her first senior events, narrowly missing a bronze medal in her division as she was tied for third, but lost in a tie-break on points as Silvia Gonzalez (MEX) had won the deciding match by ippon.
After losing his opening match to Armando Ortiz (MEX), Aaron Villareal (El Paso, Texas/Fort Bliss Judo Club/66kg) threw Rodrigo Guerra (MEX) with a beautiful kata guruma (shoulder wheel throw) for ippon in the repechage. In the bronze medal match, Villareal lost to Edwin Tun (MEX) to finish fifth.
“The team all seemed to be in good shape. It’s always tough fighting in a foreign country, but they all had a good fighting spirit,” said Lanny Clark (Hercules, Calif.) the on-site coach.
Complete results are as follows:
Women’s 44kg
1. Edna Carrillo (MEX)
2. Sandra Sanchez (MEX)
3. Sayra Zarate (MEX)
3. Silvia Gonzalez (MEX)
5. Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)
Women’s 48kg
1. Lolita Dagner (CAN)
2. Viridiana Fernandez (MEX)
3. Merys Mejia (DOM)
3. Magali Zeron (MEX)
5. Brenna Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club)
5. Nidia Palos (MEX)
Women’s 52kg
1. Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)
2. Evangelina Garcia (MEX)
3. Marcela Hernandez (MEX)
3. Elisa Zuniga (MEX)
Women’s 57kg
1. Karina Acosta (MEX)
2. Soiree Garcia (MEX)
3. Karla Bermejo (MEX)
3. Tara Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club)
Women’s 63kg
1. Emilie Grandon (CAN)
2. Myiene Lamar (CAN)
3. Bibiana Fernandez (MEX)
3. Tess Lazarrota (CAN)
5. Monica Carrillo (MEX)
5. Yvonne Carrera (Whittier, Calif./Mojica)
Women’s 70kg
1. Nidia Cordero (MEX)
2. Lenia Rubalcaba (MEX)
3. Blanca Arias (MEX)
Women’s 78kg
1. Miriam Ruiz (MEX)
2. Ana Carrillo (MEX)
3. Armidia Saenzpardo (MEX)
3. Sasha Liege (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mojica)
Women’s +78kg
1. Vanessa Samboti (MEX)
2. Mavi Mendoza (MEX)
Men’s 55kg
1. Enrique Torres (MEX)
2. Fermin Delgado (MEX)
3. Rafael Herbert (MEX)
Men’s 60kg
1. Guillermo Figueroa (MEX)
2. Sergio Perez (MEX)
3. Francisco Banos (MEX)
3. Nabor Castillos (MEX)
5. Axel Rubio (MEX)
5. Jose Estrada (MEX)
Men’s 66kg
1. Armando Ortiz (MEX)
2. Carlos Nunez (MEX)
3. Keisdo Snimabokuro (MEX)
3. Edwin Tun (MEX)
5. Roberto Balderas (MEX)
5. Aaron Villarreal (El Paso, Texas/Fort Bliss Judo Club)
Men’s 73kg
1. Abrahan Negrete (MEX)
2. Lee Mata (MEX)
3. Carlos Guerrero (MEX)
3. Eduardo Avila (MEX)
5. Jazziel Gaytan (MEX)
5. Alejandro Macias (MEX)
Men’s 81kg
1. Victor Palafox (MEX)
2. Carlos Castillo (MEX)
3. Eloy Saenz (MEX)
3. Mario Murga (MEX)
5. Hector Rodriguez (MEX)
5. Ivan Rivera (MEX)
Men’s 90kg
1. Landry Ambouroue (North Richland Hills, Texas/Ruben Martin)
2. Erik Duus (Saratoga, Calif./Stanford Judo)
3. Julian Gutierrez (MEX)
3. Carlos Ruiz (MEX)
5. Jaime Casanova (DOM)
5. Efrain Sanchez (MEX)
Men’s 100kg
1. Sergio Garcia (MEX)
2. Miguel Centurion (MEX)
3. Victor Razo (MEX)
3. Luis Mendoza (MEX)
Men’s +100kg
1. Claudio Zupo (MEX)
2. Jorge Medina (MEX)
Men’s Open
1. Sergio Garcia (MEX)
2. Ivan Rivera (MEX)
3. Hugo Zepeda (MEX)
3. Faustino Mendoza (MEX) |
