Member News

November 30, 2006

Team USA Wins 12 Medals on First Day of Pan American Infantile Championships

The United States had a successful first day at the Pan American Infantile Championships, winning three gold medals and 12 overall in the 11-12-year-old division on Thursday in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Carly Patton (Zephyrhills, Fla. / El Mambi / 53kg) won her second consecutive gold medal in this division after being named the Outstanding Competitor in 2005.  In the final match, Patton slammed Valesca Dos Santos (BRA) to the mat with one of the biggest throws of the day – an ippon seoi nage (shoulder throw) that led to cheers from the crowd.

Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club / 38kg) also won a gold medal to go with her 2005 title.  This year Bouyssou moved up two weight divisions, from 31kg to 38kg, but still went 3-0 to win gold in the day’s largest division on the girls’ side. 

After narrowly winning her first round match against Viviane Obando (ECU) by a last second yuko, Bouyssou defeated Abigail Soler (MEX) in the semifinals with a throw for ippon to advance to the final where she beat Paula Paes (BRA) by a yuko.  Bouyssou took Paes to the ground at the end of the match, scoring a waza-ari.

Giovante Ortiz (Jonesboro, Ga. / Waka Mu Sha / 48kg) was one of the group’s newcomers, but clearly didn’t perform like one, dominating each of his opponents before throwing Jose Martinez (COL) for ippon (instant win) in the opening 10 seconds of the final match. 

Chaede Grace-Reyes (Pearl City, Hawaii / 38kg) and Melinda Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / 48kg), both of the Hawaii Tenri Judo Club, also went undefeated earlier in the day to advance to the finals, but both lost close matches to finish with silver medals.  Grace-Reyes was thrown for ippon by Eliecer Zarate (VEN) while Chow also lost by ippon, getting thrown with an uchimata (inner thigh throw) by Flavia Gomes (BRA). 

Earlier in the day, Mariah Drescher (Norwich, Conn. / New London County Judo / +53kg) won a silver medal in a round robin division.

Adding to the U.S. medal count, the following athletes won bronze medals during the afternoon session:

• Chris Cos (Elbert, Colo. / Olympic Training Center Juniors / 28kg)
• Nahoakuwoo Salera (Honolulu, Hawaii / Shobukan / 42kg)
• Jacob Palimo’o (Honolulu, Hawaii / Shobukan / 38kg)
• Dane Pestano (Wiamando, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri / +53kg)
• Caitlyn Mason (East Greenwich, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club / 28kg)
• Sachiko Ragosta (Charlottesville, Va. / Charlottesville Judo Academy / 34kg)

Rounding out the day for the United States were four fifth-place finishes by the following athletes:

• Kyle Williams (Boca Raton, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai Judo Club / 31kg)
• John Tucker (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo / 53kg)
• Melissa Clauss (Clermont, Fla. / Central Florida Judo & Jujitsu / 31kg)
• Lauren Baez (Coral Gables, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai / 42kg)

Team USA finished second in the girls’ division, ahead of Venezuela and behind Brazil.  On the boys’ side, Venezuela took first place honors, followed by Brazil and the United States.

Overall, Brazil remains one of the top teams at the tournament, winning a total of eight gold medals, followed by four for Colombia and three for the United States. 

Tomorrow Team USA continues the competition with the 13-14-year-old division where Kyle Taketa (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo / 53kg) and Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo +64kg) will both be looking to defend their titles from 2005 while a cadre of other athletes also have strong hopes of medal finishes.