Member News

August 31, 2006

Men’s Preview for This Weekend’s Fall Classic Nationals in Harlingen, Texas

(Harlingen, Texas) – This weekend’s Fall Classic Nationals is expected to draw most of the top players in the United States to compete in Harlingen, Texas – home of the new USA Judo National Training Site. 

The Fall Classic Nationals will be held Saturday at Harlingen High School South Gymnasium, 1701 Dixieland Rd., with competition running from 10 a.m. until approximately 3 p.m. on Sept. 2. 

Following the Fall Classic, the Ladder Tournament will be held Sept. 3 from 10 a.m. until approximately 2 p.m.  The Ladder Tournament is an event open only to athletes who do not have Senior Elite Roster points in the division in which they enter.  The Ladder Tournament gives up-and-coming athletes an opportunity to be seen by National Coaches and generally features many of the same competitors as the Fall Classic.

Below is a preview of the men’s athletes scheduled to compete at this weekend’s event:

Men’s 60kg

Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center), the Senior Pan American silver medalist, is the top seed in this division that also contains Senior National Champion Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) and bronze medalist Nick Kossor (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center).

Matches to Watch: Should Liggett and Ramos meet in the finals, it would be a rematch of a frequently occurring rivalry.  While Liggett has traditionally won these matches, all of them have been close.  Most recently Liggett defeated Ramos at the Junior World Trials and twice at the Senior Pan American Trials in May.  Kossor will come in as a third seed and while the two never have fought in major competition, their record in smaller events this year stands at 2-2.  Watch out for up-and-comer Miguel Ballesteros (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) as well.  The 14-year-old won last year’s Pan American Infantile Championships and had good results in the summer junior events.  In a division populated by young athletes, he could make an impact.

Men’s 66kg

Put simply: everyone is here, led by top seed Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site).  With at least seven of the top eight players competing in a division that already features the closest matches of any on the men’s side, any number of players could find their way to the podium.

Matches to Watch: With most of the who’s who coming to Harlingen, virtually every match will be one to check out.  Takata may find himself in a repeat of his final match from Senior Nationals with #4 Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute) in the semis.  Although he comes in as a fourth seed, Torra has some of the best technique in the division and was a member of the 2003 World Team as well as a Nationals silver medalist in 2005 and 2006.  Second seed Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. / Northglenn Judo) and third seed Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) also could match up on the other side of the draw – a repeat of the Senior Nationals bronze medal match in which Hashimoto came out on top. 

Elsewhere in the division are a whole cadre of juniors who’ve been fighting it out all summer.  Jeff Fong (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State) was a surprise to many to finish fifth at Senior Nationals and is a likely fifth seed, followed by former top junior Francisco Alejandro (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) in sixth.  A match between Alejandro and unseeded Junior World Team member AJ Silverman (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) will be another must-see.  Alejandro had never lost to Silverman until the Junior World Trials in a controversial Golden Score (overtime) match and a fight between the two will quickly draw a crowd.  Ross Nakamura (Mission Hills, Calif. / Valley Judo) also comes in unseeded, but could ruffle some feathers in early rounds as he upset Silverman at the High School Nationals in March – although Silverman returned the favor in a quick match at Junior World Trials.  Daniel Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri), the 2006 Junior Olympic Champion, also will be one to watch for.  Still new to the senior scene, Chow picked up several wins at Senior Nationals to finish ninth, but with a good draw the unseeded Hawaiian could fare well here.

Men’s 73kg

Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center) is the top seed in this division, but the Senior Nationals silver medalist will have his work cut out for him this time around as Nationals bronze medalist Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) and New York Open bronze medalist Nick Delpopolo (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) are expected to take the #2 and #3 seeds, respectively.

Matches to Watch: In what has turned into the “Bobby and Nick” tale, the two 17-year-olds have fought four times with Delpopolo taking the first three match-ups and Lee winning the last in a hotly contested overtime match at the Junior U.S. Open.  With both athletes likely on the same side of the draw, a semis match could occur.  In addition, Brestyan and Delpopolo seem to be evenly matched.  Though Brestyan won at the New York Open, Delpopolo has produced victories in smaller events.  Also be on the look for an upset from unseeded Justin Flores (Palo Alto, Calif. / San Shi).  A National Champion and World Team member at 66kg, Flores won both the Golden State and San Jose E-Level Tournaments at 73kg this year and is expected to compete in the heavier division here.

Men’s 81kg

Travis Stevens (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State), a fifth place finisher at the 2005 U.S. Open, is the top seed in a division that also includes Senior National bronze medalist Junior World Team member Yuko Sin (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center).

Matches to Watch: Both Stevens and Sin are relatively evenly matched. As members of the USA Judo Elite U-23 Team, the two have competed against each other frequently. Expect close matches in the division.

Men’s 90kg

Bronze medalist Landry Ambouroue (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) will likely be returning back to his native Texas after recently moving to Colorado Springs and will hope to do well on his home turf.

Matches to Watch: Look for a potential rematch between Ambouroue and Colin Burns (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site).  Like Amouroue, Burns is a Texan who just moved to Colorado Springs.  The two fought at Senior Nationals in the bronze medal match with Ambouroue taking the win. 

Men’s 100kg

Adler Volmar (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) finished second at this event in 2005 and is looking for gold as a potential top seed this time around.

Matches to Watch: In a division as diverse as 100kg, almost anything could happen.  In addition to Volmar, keep an eye out for Tony Sangimino (Burlingame, Calif. / Cahill’s Judo).  Although he lost out on his Junior World Trials bid, the teenager should put together some quality matches.

Men’s +100kg

Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas / Bedford Kodokan Judo) is the #1 in the division, having taken over the position in April from former National Champion Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site).

Matches to Watch: Although it isn’t known whether Hoffmann will have the #2 or #3 seed at this event, at least one match-up with McCormick is likely.  Both young athletes who are relatively small for this division, Hoffmann and McCormick are well-matched with Hoffmann taking the win in their last match at the Midwestern Championships in March.

For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 719.761.7909 (cell) or Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us.

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