Member News

July 29, 2006

2006 Junior World Team Named After Trials in Fort Lauderdale

(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) – Fourteen athletes were named to the Junior World Championship Team at the conclusion of the first-ever USA Judo Junior World Trials on July 29 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  These athletes will compete at the Junior World Championships, Oct. 15-19 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Complete team roster is as follows:

Men

60kg:     Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center)

66kg:     AJ Silverman (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

73kg:     Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

81kg:     Yuko Sin (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

90kg:     Jacob Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif./Redwood Coast Judo Club)

100kg:   Zane Malloy (Oak Harbor, Wash./NAS Whidbey Island Judo)

+100kg: Aaron Shiosaki (Lomita, Calif./Gardena Judo)

Women

48kg:     Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

52kg:     Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)

57kg:     Hannah Martin (Albany, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

63kg:     Ronda Rousey (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Cohen’s Judo)

70kg:     Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden)

78kg:     Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center)

+78kg:   Brittni Bradford (Land O’Lakes, Fla./St. Pete Judo)

Athletes were invited to the Junior World Trials based upon their status on the IJF-Junior (athletes born 1987 or later) rosters.  Athletes are ranked throughout the year and receive points for placings in domestic and international events. 

At the Trials, the #1 and #4 seeds competed, followed by the #2 and #3 seeds.  The winners of these matches then fought.  If the #1 seed won, he or she was named to the team.  If the #1 seed was not the winner of the Trials, he or she fought the Trials winner in a sudden-death contest.  The winner of that match was then named to the team.

“This was one of our most exciting events of the year so far,” said USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance Eddie Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo.)  “These athletes had a chance to experience a Trials situation that is similar to what they would face to qualify for an Olympic or World Championship Team and so they got to see what that pressure is like and it should prepare them well down the road.”

The Trials featured 49 participants from clubs throughout the country with athletes ranging in age from 14-19-years-old.  Competitors included Olympic, World, Pan American and Junior Pan American Team members as well as athletes who used this event to qualify for their first international team. 

“All of the athletes here were excellent competitors,” said Jim Hrbek (san Antonio, Texas), Chair of Junior Development.  “This has been one of the most talked about events in a long time and these athletes all did a great job, through both their own hard work as well as the effort of all of the clubs, parents and coaches who helped get them to this level.   Our junior program is showing a great deal of depth across the divisions and these athletes will represent the United States well in Santo Domingo.”

Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center) may not have won his slot on the team with his trademark “pretty judo,” but the top seed at 60kg only needed two wins to get the job done, defeating Aaron Kunihiro (Covina, Calif./San Gabriel Judo) and Rafael Ramos (Union City, N.J./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) by shidos (penalties) in the first and second round, respectively.

Meanwhile, Liggett’s JMJC teammates AJ Silverman (Scotia, N.Y./66kg) and Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y./73kg) both found themselves in controversial match-ups.

Top-ranked Silverman likely had the toughest first round of the day, facing Francisco Alejandro (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site).  As of Saturday, Silverman had yet to beat the former #1 in any of their match-ups, but Alejandro had moved to the Dominican Republic to go to college for the year and his ranking fell to fourth for what otherwise would likely have been a final round fight.

With both athletes drawing penalties, Silverman looked to close out the match with a choke, but Alejandro escaped and the fight went into Golden Score (overtime).

Knowing that neither could afford another stalling penalty, the two athletes began attacking quickly into the Golden Score session and Alejandro sent Silverman soaring with a beautiful o uchi gari (major inner reaping throw) for what looked like an ippon.

“My heart just sank,” Silverman said of his thoughts when he hit the ground. “But then they called ‘matte (stop)’ and I knew I still had a chance.”

He quickly capitalized as the throw was called out of bounds, pinning Alejandro within the minute for the win.

Looking to avoid seeing himself in that situation again, Silverman quickly avenged his loss at the High School Nationals in March to Ross Nakamura (Mission Hills, Calif./Valley View Judo Institute), pinning Nakamura in the opening 30 seconds of the match.

Meanwhile, on the next mat, Delpopolo was having surprising problems at 73kg with his first opponent #3 Danny Satinsky (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Cohen’s Judo Club).

Neither athlete could manage to score and the match went into Golden Score with Delpopolo winning on a penalty – not quite what was expected, but good enough to carry him into the final round against Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site). 

“I just couldn’t get my focus in the first one and knew I had to get it together with Bobby,” Delpopolo said.

Nick Delpopolo (white) attacks Bobby Lee on the way to earning a spot on the Junior World Team. Photo Credit: Lou DiGesare/Real Judo Magazine

Lee and Delpopolo were likely the biggest rivalry of the day as Lee came in as both the #1 seed who had been undefeated in U.S. junior competition in 2005 and a slight underdog as he had lost his only two matches against Delpopolo including a final round at last week’s U.S. Judo Federation Junior Nationals, held at this same venue.

Lee began the match as the clear aggressor, coming out strong with quick attacks.  Delpopolo earned the first points though, countering one of Lee’s throws for uchimata (inner thigh throw) to earn a koka (smallest points). 

From there the match came down to the all-important question of “who could score the least amount of penalties.”

Both athletes picked up a penalty mid-match, but Delpopolo scored again with a throw for yuko (quarter-point).  The New Yorker was handed another penalty for stalling late in the match, but still pulled out the overall win.

Fifteen minutes later the two reconvened for a second match and both picked up early shidos with each penalty earned by one meaning a score for his opponent. 

Delpopolo then threw Lee for a yuko for the first active score of the match. 

“Because he’s so much taller, it’s really hard for either of us to have big throws, so the goal for both of us was to make the other one look as bad as possible,” Delpopolo said.

As the match neared an end, Lee succeeded in that goal, picking up the pacing and forcing Delpopolo into another penalty, but Lee still needed another score to either tie or win the fight.

With four seconds on the clock, Delpopolo dodged Lee’s last attack and when the buzzer went off, the Pro-Lee hometown crowd roared “Shido! Shido!” calling for a penalty on Lee that would send the match into Golden Score.

Never during the day was the convention center hall as completely silent as when the referee stood in the match for seemingly an eternity before telling Delpopolo to fix his belt.  Another 10 seconds as he did so before the match was called in Delpopolo’s favor and the 17-year-old walked off the mat, too tired to even crack a smile.

“This was really the biggest day of my entire life and I was just so relieved to be done with it all,” he said.

This is the first Junior World Team for Delpopolo who just returned to the sport in September following the reconstruction of a knee blown out by wrestling.

“I did judo in junior high at Jason’s club, but when I got to high school we moved to Westfield, N.J. so I could go to a Catholic school with a really good wrestling program,” he said.

At the end of his sophomore season, though, Delpopolo had not only destroyed his knee with a torn ACL, LCL and meniscus, but he found he no longer enjoyed the sport and opted to leave his family and move back to Scotia to train with Morris in the sport he loved.

The move clearly paid off as Delpopolo will be one of the top athletes to watch in Santo Domingo.

Yuko Sin (white) attacks Carlos Moran on the way to earning a spot on the Junior World Team.  Photo Credit: Lou DiGesare/Real Judo Magazine

At 81kg, Yuko Sin (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) had a significantly easier road to his Junior World Team berth, throwing Wesley Thomas (San Mateo, Calif./Palo Alto Judo) for ippon in the first minute and pinning Carlos Moran (Clifton, N.J./Camal Judo) in the second round for the overall win.

Jacob Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif./Redwood Coast Judo) came into Trials as a #2 seed with only a point separating him from top-ranked Kyle Vashkulat (Scotia, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) who he had beaten at the USJF event last week.

Larsen, who won each of the three junior national championships this season, beat High School Champion Steve Fayzakov (Fresh Meadows, N.Y./Spartak Sports Club) in the first round.  In the second, he threw Vashkulat with a quick drop seoi nage (shoulder throw) to force a fight-off.

In their second match, Larsen prevailed again, launching Vashkulat with a huge o goshi (hip throw) for the win.

In the 100kg division, Tony Sangimino (Burligame, Calif./Cahill’s Judo Academy) seemed to have his division locked up, throwing Mike Kannianen (Denver, Colo./Northglenn, Colo.) for ippon in the first minute – an important win as Kannianen had beaten Sangimino twice in his own backyard at the USA Judo Junior Olympics (July 8-9 in San Jose, Calif.)

In the second round Sangimino was ahead in his match against Zane Malloy (Oak Harbor, Wash./NAS Whidbey Island Judo), but got thrown for ippon.  In the play-off match Malloy would throw Sangimino again to earn his first World Team nomination. 

In the heavyweight division, top-ranked Zachary Bell (Naperville, Ill./Fox Valley Judo & Jujitsu) went 0-2 after a first round bye, getting thrown twice for ippon (instant win) by Aaron Shiosaki (Lomita, Calif./Gardena) who would win his first World Team slot. 

On the women’s side, top-ranked Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) won both of her matches by ippon, throwing her North Miami teammate Daimisy Porras (Hialeah, Fla.) with an o soto gari (major outer reaping).  In her next match, Rodriguez threw #2-ranked Brenna Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club) with a fireman’s carry to qualify for her first Junior World Team.

At 52kg, picked up a win in her first round against Tara Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo Club) who dropped from her current division of 57kg this week to fight at the Trials.

In the second round, Durand fought #2 Nicki Schultheis (Gurnee, Ill./Gurnee Judo).  The two are frequent final round competitors, but Schultheis, a silver medalist at the Pan Am Juniors in April, hadn’t posted a win in the rivalry since last year’s High School Nationals. 

This time looked different, though, as Schultheis looked to be in peak form.  Whereas many of their matches are known to end in early minutes, Schultheis looked determined and answered Durand’s first throw (an uchimata for a yuko score) with a throw for yuko of her own tying the match. 

The two appeared even-matched, but Durand caught Schultheis with two mistakes that resulted in a pair of waza-aris (half-point each) that closed the match and gave Durand her first World Team slot.

The 57kg division was expected to be the biggest battleground on the women’s side and lived up to the hype.

In the first round, third-ranked Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Calif./Budokan Judo) beat former #1 Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site).  Delgado held the top seed until last week when a loss to Carmichael caused Delgado to finish third at the USJF Junior Nationals.

Top-ranked Hannah Martin (Albany, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) drew an unexpected opponent in Gabriella Baez (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site).  Baez, ranked fifth in the division, moved into the fourth seed on the heels of a late withdrawal by Pauline Macias (Lancaster, Calif./Antelope Valley Judo).  Martin ended the fast-paced, highly physical match with a pin for ippon.

In the final, Martin attempted to throw Carmichael with an o uchi gari, but Carmichael countered the move, throwing Martin for the yuko score that would determine the match. 

Carmichael’s win forced a fight-off in which Martin came out attacking and soon pinned her for the win.

“I think in the first match with Hana the nerves got to me a little bit because this has been my goal for the whole summer,” Martin said. “It feels really good to make the team.  We’re going to work on learning a lot more techniques and I think by fall my judo will be a lot different than it is now. 

While everyone else at Trials was looking to compete at their first Junior Worlds, 19-year-old Athens Olympian Ronda Rousey (Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo) used this as an opportunity to complete the first step on her quest for a second Junior World Championship title.

In doing so, Rousey likely had the quickest matches of the day, throwing Yanik Labrada (Miami, Fla./Miami Judo Club) and Natalie Laursen (Livermore, Calif./Amador Judo) each for ippon in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden) was listed as the #2 seed at 70kg, but after defeating top-ranked Katie Sell (Oshkosh, Wis./Welcome Mat Judo) six times in just over four months, she was viewed by many as the favorite to win the slot enough though she would need to win the first two rounds and a play-off to do so. 

In the first round Harrison beat #3 Catherine Bridges by the full gamut of points, throwing her for a waza-ari, then picking up two yukos and a koka before throwing her for a second waza-ari to win the match.

Sell, on the other hand, had a first-round bye before her final round match with Harrison.  Like the previous matches, Harrison dominated this one, throwing sell first for a yuko and then with an o goshi (hip throw) for ippon.

In the fight-off match, Harrison again accrued a wealth of points, first scoring two yukos and a koka before throwing Sell for waza-ari with a drop seoi nage (shoulder throw) for a first waza-ari and then a earning a second waza-ari with a leg pick to win the match.

“I was really nervous, but not about losing as much as I was about screwing up and getting injured,” Harrison said.

And while injuries are of concern for many athletes, they are particularly so for Harrison who won a Junior World Team spot in 2004 as a 13-year-old in the 52kg division, but had to give it up after hurting her hand in practice.

Two years and three weight divisions later, Harrison is looking forward to finally competing at a Junior Worlds.

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous, but if I train as hard as I can and have a good day I’ll be ok because I’d definitely not going just to go,” she said.

Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y./Jason Morris Judo Center) qualified for the Junior World Team in near record time, needing only one match to overpower #3-ranked Halee Shadden (Mineral Wells, Texas/Ruben Martin Judo), throwing her with an o goshi for ippon, to earn her spot.

Brittni Bradford (Land O’Lakes, Fla./St. Pete Judo) also was named to the team in the +78kg in an uncontested division.