Member News
September 2, 2007
Ladder Tournament Results
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Grace Jividen (blue) goes for the armbar against Natalie Laursen. |
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Anna Palmer (white) defeated Carrie Chandler (blue) to win 57kg. |
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Masters was contested for the first time at this year's tournament. |
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Hannah Martin (white) defeated Hana Carmichael (blue) in the 63kg final. |
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(Coral Springs,
Fla.)
– The follow-up event to
the Fall Classic, Sunday’s Ladder Tournament was a smaller competition as many
athletes fought up a weight division, but featured some of the season’s best
match-ups.
Anna Palmer
(Colorado Springs, Colo.
/
USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) won her
52kg division with relatively ease on Saturday, but moving up to 57kg created a
new challenge in the form of six total matches in a heavier weight class –
including three against five-time National Champion Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training
Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center).
Palmer and
Chandler
fought in
the semifinals of the 52kg division at the Senior Nationals in April, but when
the match went into overtime Palmer was countered by
Chandler
and thrown for a yuko
(quarter-point) score.
This time around
Chandler
was
returning from shoulder surgery in a warm-up tournament before she leaves next
week for the World Championships in
Rio
de Janeiro
.
After a first-round bye
Chandler
dominated her next fight against
Lydia
Au
(Chicago
,
Ill.
/ Tohkon), quickly
taking the junior player to the ground and working her into an armbar in the
first minute to advance to her final series of matches against Palmer.
Palmer, meanwhile, earned her early wins against
Chandler
’s JMJC teammates Kimberly Carpenter and Ronni
Aragona, both of
Glenville
,
N.Y.
Palmer and
Chandler
split their first two matches with each player winning by a yuko throw in the
fourth minute.
Chandler
took the first win and Palmer’s win in the second forced a third final. Neither athlete scored in regulation, so the
match went to Golden Score. Again, both
athletes fought strategically and at the end of 10 minutes there was still no
score which meant the match went to a referee’s decision.
As the flags came out, Palmer’s supporters cheered “Blue!
Blue! Blue!” to voice their enthusiasm for Palmer when the referees brought out
flags to signal the win with votes for either the player in the blue gi
(Palmer) or the white one (Chandler).
“It was good to hear everybody chanting ‘Blue!’ because it
made me realize that I’d done really well and that I’d won it,” Palmer said.
The judges voted unanimously for Palmer and she won the gold
medal.
“I couldn’t be happier. I keep working harder and it keeps
paying off, so it encourages me more for the future,” Palmer said after the
match. “It was a really big win and I
think this is a really good progress for my career.”
The win took a total of six matches for Palmer after her
three matches at the Fall Classic on Saturday.
“Six matches today and three yesterday… it’s been a long couple days, but the main
thing I learned is how to keep your composure when your body just wants to
fail,” Palmer said.
Aaron Kunihiro
(Wakefield,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National
Team FORCE) had a standout performance on the men’s side. The Senior National medalist in the 60kg
division, Kunihiro fought up to 66kg on Sunday.
Among his five wins, three of his victories were against
top-ranked 60kg players. Kunihiro defeated
2007 Pan Am Team member Nick Kossor
(Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center)
by a penalty and a koka (smallest points) score when he threw Kossor at the
buzzer.
In his first final match, Kunihiro threw Miguel Ballesteros
(Miami
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North
Miami)
, 2006 U.S. Open fifth-place finisher, and moved straight into a win, but
Ballesteros tapped out after five seconds with an injury.
After Kunihiro defeated Ballesteros, he fought Kossor
again. This time neither athlete scored
until Kunihiro threw Kossor for koka and yuko scores in the last minute and
launched Kossor for a beautiful ippon as the buzzer went off.
Also among the day’s competitors was
Grace Jividen
(Littleton
,
Colo.
/ Olympic
Training
Center
/
Denver
Judo), a 43-year-old 1992 Olympian
who was fighting for the first time since she was named an alternate at the
2004 Olympic Trials.
Jividen, who fought in the 63kg division in 2004, competed
at 70kg on Sunday, defeating Natalie
Laursen (Livermore, Calif. / Amador), a former top-ranked junior player in
the 63kg division, and Kelsi Bostic
(Anderson, Ind. / Judan Judo), a 70kg junior national champion.
Complete results are as follows:
Men’s 55kg
1. Steve Perez (
Miami
,
Fla.
/ Ki-Itsu-Sai)
2. Andre Brooks (
Lauderdale
Lakes
,
Fla.
/ Onikusu
Judo)
3. Carlos Hernandez (
Miami
,
Fla.
/ Baragua Judo Kai)
Men’s 60kg
1. Rafael Ramos (
Union
City
,
N.J.
/ Camal
Judo)
2. Tylor Ferry (
Riverview
,
Fla.
/
Florida
School
of Judo Inc.)
3. Joshua Woosley (
Gloversville
,
N.Y.
/
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
Men’s 66kg
1. Aaron Kunihiro (
Wakefield
,
Mass.
/
USA
Judo National Team FORCE)
2. Nick Kossor (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
3. Miguel Ballesteros (
Miami
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North
Miami
)
Men’s 73kg
1. Bill Shanahan (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
2. Jeremy Liggett (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/ NYAC /
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
3. Alfred Raymond (
Providence
,
R.I.
/ Mayo Quanchi Judo Club)
Men’s 81kg
1. Michael Eldred (
Fruitland
,
Idaho
/ Western Idaho Judo
Institute)
2. Seth Foreman (
Mellen
,
Wis.
/ Welcome Mat Judo)
3. Michael Oshima (
Somerville
,
Mass.
/ Tohoku Judo)
Men’s 90kg
1. Yuko Sin (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
2. Neil Coker (
Bloomfield
,
Ind.
/ IU Judo)
3. Steven Indalecio (
Eden
,
N.Y.
/ Kin-Tora Judo)
Men’s 100kg
1. George Pissimissis (
Hyannis
,
Mass.
/ Pedro’s
Judo
Center
)
2. Vasile Malutan (
Garrett
,
Ind.
/
Bushido
Sports
Center
)
3. Brian Germain (
Lakeland
,
Fla.
/ Summerlin Judo)
Men’s +100kg
1. David Bleeker (
Pekin
,
Ill.
/
Canton
Judo)
2. Robert Santiago (
Jacksonville
,
Fla.
/
Jacksonville
Judo Ryu)
3. Nicholas Gohn (
Livermore
,
Calif.
/ Amador)
Men’s Open
1. Nicholas Gohn (
Livermore
,
Calif.
/ Amador)
Women’s 48kg
1. Angela Creutzberger (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)2. Katelyn Bouyssou (
Hope
,
R.I.
/ Mayo Quanchi Judo Club)
3. Gabrielle Denu (
Aberdeen
,
Md.
/
College
Park
Judo)
Women’s 52kg
1. Kayla Chappell (
Oklahoma City
,
Okla.
/
USA
Stars)
2. Daimisy Porras (
Miami
,
Fla.
/ USA Judo National Trianing site at
North Miami
)
3. Brenna Clark (Hercules,
Calif.
/ Amador Judo)
Women’s 57kg
1. Anna Palmer (
Colorado
Springs
,
Colo.
/ USA
Judo National Training site at the Olympic Training Center)
2. Carrie Chandler (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/ NYAC / USA Judo National Training site
at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
3. Ronni Aragona (
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
Women’s 63kg
1.
Hannah
Martin
(
Glenville
,
N.Y.
/
USA
Judo National Training
Site at the
Jason
Morris
Judo
Center
)
2. Danielle Greenstein (
Wellington
,
Fla.
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
North
Miami
)
3. Hana Carmichael (
Wellington
,
Fla.
/ Budokan Judo
)
Women’s 70kg
1.
Grace Jividen
(
Littleton
,
Colo.
/ Olympic
Training
Center
/
Denver
Judo)
2. Kelsi Bostic (
Anderson
,
Ind.
/ Judan Judo)
3. Natalie Laursen (
Livermore
,
Calif.
/ Amador)
Women’s 78kg
1. Katie Sell (
Harlingen
,
Texas
/
USA
Judo National Training Site at
Harlingen
)
2. LaQuinta Allen (
Lauderdale
Lakes
,
Fla.
/ Onikusu
Judo)
3. Suzie Rizek (
Naperville
,
Ill.
/
Fox
Valley
Judo)
Women’s +78kg
1. Molly O’Rourke (
El
Cerrito
,
Calif.
/
East Bay Judo Institute)
2. Corinne Vannatta (
Denver
,
Colo.
/
Denver
Judo)
Masters Men’s 30-34-year-old 81kg
1. Seth Foreman (
Mellen
,
Wis.
/ Welcome Mat Judo)
2. Nasib Maluf (
Englewood
,
Colo.
/
Denver
Judo)
3. Juan Rodriguez (
Clermont
,
Fla.
/
Central Florida
Judo)
Masters Men’s 35-39-year-old 66kg
1. Julian Prado (
Coral
Springs
,
Fla.
/
Ki-Itsu-Sai)
2. Serge Audate (
Miami
,
Fla.
/ Baraqua Judo Kai)
Masters Men’s 35-39-year-old 73kg
1. Ronnie Nicholson (
Covington
,
La.
)
2. Juan Zevallos (
Florida
)
3. Paco Amram (
Florida
)
Masters Men’s 40-44-year-old 81kg
1. Robert Niedbilec (
Temple Terrace
,
Fla.
/
Tampa
Judo)
2. Stephane Hainaut (
Miami
Beach
,
Fla.
/ Baraqua
Judo Kai)
Masters Men’s 45-49-year-old Open
1. Brian Germain (
Lakeland
,
Fla.
/ Summerlin Judo)
2. Steven Indalecio (
Eden
,
N.Y.
/ Kin-Tora Judo Club)
3. Jim Murray (
Rockford
,
Mich.
/
Grand
Rapids
Judo) |
