2007 High School and Collegiate Preview

Member News

March 21, 2007

Junior and Senior National Champions Among the Competitors at Middle School, High School and Collegiate Nationals This Weekend

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – More than 400 athletes are expected to compete at the USA Judo Middle School, High School and Collegiate National Championships this weekend at the Pharmed Arena at Florida International University in Miami, including a number of top-ranked junior and senior players.

The Middle School and High School Nationals will be held March 24 at Pharmed Arena with preliminary rounds beginning at 9 a.m. Middle school final matches and high school bronze medal matches will be held during the preliminary session. Gold medal final matches for the High School Championships will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Collegiate Nationals will be held from approximately 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. on March 25. Immediately following the Collegiate Nationals a team of seven top-ranked U.S. high school athletes will face off against a Japanese High-School All-Star Team in a friendly team competition.

In the collegiate division, the USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University will be looking to collect its 42nd team title and will be bringing a talented lineup into the event, including reigning National Champions Tomoyo Yoshinaga (70kg), Corrie Geier (63kg) and Marti Malloy (57kg) who also won silver medals at the 2006 Senior Nationals and U.S. Open. Tabitha Lum (48kg), a Senior Nationals bronze medalist, is among the favorites in her division after winning a silver medal here last year. San Jose also has several top prospects on the men’s side including Andrew Hung (81kg) and Jeff Fong (66kg) who finished fifth in their respective divisions at the 2006 Senior Nationals and Atsushi Yoshinaga (90kg) who won a silver medal at the 2006 Collegiate Nationals.

Among the top challengers for the overall title will likely be the U.S. Military Academy Team from West Point which is expected to field at least 20 players, including Sara Knutson who won a silver medal in the 63kg division last year.

Other collegiate athletes to watch include:

Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio / Renshuden Judo / 78kg), 2006 Collegiate National Champion and Pan Am Team member
Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen / 70kg), 2006 Senior Nationals bronze medalist
Paul Gomez (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen / 100kg), 2006 Junior U.S. Open Champion

The High School National Championships will include at least 10 of the gold medalists from the 2006 event as well as at least four members of the 2006 Junior World Team.

Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio / Renshuden Judo Academy) won the 70kg title at both the 2006 High School and Senior Nationals last year and is the favorite in the 70kg division this year as well. The top-ranked senior in the Open division, Harrison won the High School Open title as well last year, throwing top-ranked senior heavyweight Brittni Bradford (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo) for ippon (instant win) in the final. Bradford, the 2006 High School +78kg Champion, is slated to defend her title in the heavyweight division.

Rafael Ramos (Union City, N.J. / Camal Judo) surprised many when he won the 2006 Senior Nationals as a 16-year-old, and is the top-ranked junior in the men’s 60kg division. Ramos hasn’t competed in a major event since last September, but could have an interesting match with Miguel Ballesteros (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami), the 15-year-old who finished fifth at the Senior U.S. Open in October.

Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) is both the top-ranked senior in the 52kg division as well as the 2006 High School National Champion. Durand’s biggest challenge may come from Chrissy Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri), a bronze medalist at the 2006 Pan American Infantile Championships.

The women’s 44kg division will likely be a preview of the Senior Nationals when Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) and Taylor Ibera (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) face off. Ibera’s entrance into 44kg in 2006 added a new dimension to the division. Prado, who won the 2006 40kg High School title, and Ibera were both 44kg medalists at the 2006 Senior Nationals, but the two didn’t fight until the summer junior season where they consistently flip-flopped wins. During their last match Prado beat Ibera at the 2006 Senior U.S. Open in October.

It was at last year’s High School Nationals that Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center / 73kg) first made the judo community take notice when he upset top-ranked junior Bobby Lee (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami). Lee has since graduated, but Delpopolo will be the top seed in the division. Expect two of Delpopolo’s biggest opponents to be Antonio Rodriguez (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami), a 2007 Juvenile Pan Am Team member, and Alfred Raymond (Providence, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo), both of whom were former junior ranked players at 66kg who have moved up to the 73kg division.

The women’s 57kg division will likely be the division’s deepest, including top-ranked junior Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) and Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo) who won a silver medal at the 2006 High School Nationals. Carmichael lost in the finals to Paula Duarte (Baldwin Park, Calif. / Mojica Judo) who has since moved up to 63kg where she is expected to be the top seed. Fifth-ranked Danica Kamakana (Honolulu, Hawaii / Kamehameha Judo) and seventh-ranked Paola Genao-Butler (Houston, Texas / Champion Judo) round out a talented field.

Other 2006 High School National Champions expected to compete include:

Daimisy Porras (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami), the 2006 High School and Senior National Champion at 44kg who will be competing this year at 48kg
Zachary Maes (Wheatridge, Colo. / Team FORCE), the 2006 High School National Champion at 51kg who will be the fighting as the top seed this year at 55kg
Carlos Moran (Clifton, N.J. / Camal Judo), the 2006 High School National Champion at 81kg who will be competing this year at 90kg
Steve Fayzakov (Fresh Meadows, N.Y. / Spartak Sports Club / 90kg)

The middle school division is expected to include many members of the 2006 Pan Am Infantile (11-14-year-olds) Team, including:

Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo), 11-12-year-old gold medalist at 38kg
Giovante Ortiz (Jonesboro, Ga. / Waka Mu Sha), 11-12-year-old gold medalist at 48kg
Everet Desilets (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Qunachi Judo), 13-14-year-old gold medalist at 36kg
Melinda Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri), 11-12-year-old silver medalist at 48kg
Ricondo Cole (Providence, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo), 13-14-year-old silver medalist at 40kg
Lauren Baez (Coral Gables, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai), 11-12-year-old fifth-place finisher at 42kg
Shaniqua Brown (Atlanta, Ga. / Waka Mu Sha), 13-14-year-old fifth-place finisher at 64kg