Member News

November 10, 2006

Draw Sheets

Continental Crown to Be Held This Weekend in Seattle

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – More than 200 judo players are expected to compete Saturday at the Continental Crown, a USA Judo Senior E Level Tournament, at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash. in suburban Seattle.

Competition begins at 9:30 a.m. with the junior divisions.  The senior divisions are expected to begin after 1 p.m.

Among the senior athletes are a mix of top-ranked, up-and-coming and former #1 players.

Both the North Miami and Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Sites have committed to sending strong teams while the San Jose State University Judo Club and athletes from Southern California also will have a strong presence.

Jeanette Rodriguez (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site / 48kg) will come into this event as the favorite at 48kg.  The 16-year-old moved up to the #1 senior ranking earlier this fall and won the U.S. Open three weeks ago in Miami. 

Michael Barnes (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University / 100kg), a two-time Pan American medalist, will be making his first competitive appearance since the 2004 Olympic Trials.  Among his competitors will be 16-year-old Pan American Juvenile silver medalist Tony Sangimino (Burlingame, Calif. / Cahill’s Judo Academy) who will be in the hunt for his first senior win.

Former Junior World Team member Anna Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) and Senior Nationals bronze medalist Tracy Nagai (Bellevue, Wash. / Budokan Judo) will prove to be one of the most exciting fights in the 52kg division. 

The women’s 57kg division will feature a number of top junior players, including Pan American Juvenile silver medalist Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site).  Larissa Lindstrom (Livermore, Calif. / Amador Judo Team) is expected to move down to 57kg from 63kg where she won the U.S. Judo Federation Junior Nationals earlier this year.  Collegiate Nationals medalist Nausikaa Davis (Renton, Wash. / Kent Parks and Recreation Judo) and Junior Olympic bronze medalist Danica Kamakana (Honolulu, Hawaii / Kamehameha Judo) also will be competing in what could be one of the largest women’s divisions.

Although not an Olympic weight, look for some interesting fights coming out of the women’s 44kg division.  Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) and Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) are 15- and 16-years-old, respectively, but are the top two athletes on the senior roster.  The two go back and forth in their record against each other with Prado taking the win during their last match at the U.S. Open.  Elena Zaitseva (No Country) also will be a frontrunner.  Prado’s only loss at the U.S. Open was to Zaitseva while Liddie beat her to finish third.  Fourteen-year-old Maddyson Post (Livermore, Calif. / Amador Judo), a fifth-place finisher at Senior Nationals, also is expected to fight 44kgs this weekend. 

Senior Nationals bronze medalist Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute) will be competing at 73kg this weekend alongside up-and-comer Shane Simerly (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site).

Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University), a fifth-place finisher at this year’s Senior Nationals, is expected to be the highest ranked 81kg athlete in the tournament.  In addition, Phillip Spano (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) and Wesley Thomas (San Mateo, Calif. / Palo Alto Judo Club), the #2- and #3-ranked juniors at 81kg also will be competing in Seattle.  Spano, who just moved up from 73kg earlier this year, has taken each of their three match-ups this year by ippon (instant win). 

Collegiate National Champion Tomoyo Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University) will be competing in the 70kg division against 15-year-old Emily Lilly (Camarillo, Calif. / Sawtelle), an Open division bronze medalist at the U.S. Open, and Pan American Masters Champion Terrie Norman (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo).

Colin Burns (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site), the fourth-ranked senior in the 90kg division, and Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University), who won a silver medal at the Fall Classic Nationals in September, will be two of the athletes to watch at 90kg.