2007 Midwest Results

Member News

PJU Referee Director Carlos Diaz, USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez, USA Judo Referee Education Committee Chair Mel Appelbaum and USA Judo Board Member Fletcher Thornton.

Eddie Liddie, USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance, gives out medals to the winners of the 48kg division.

German Velazco, USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami Coach, smiles for the camera with two of his youngest athletes.

Midwest Champions Sayaka Matsumoto and Aaron Cohen warm up before winning their divisions.

Carlos Diaz, PJU Refereeing Director (center), led a clinic prior to the event.

Jim Hrbek, Chair of Junior Athlete Performance; with Rodriguez and Velazco.

March 3, 2007

Midwest Championships Results

The Midwest Judo Championships, a USA Judo Senior E-Level Point Tournament were held Saturday at the Hinkston Park Field House in Waukegan, Ill.

With six past National Champions in attendance as well as many top-five players, the event included many fights that may be revised at both next weekend’s New York Open and the Senior Nationals in April.

Three-time World Cup medalist Ryan Reser (Security, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site / 73kg) arrived back in the United States from a Super World Cup and training camp in Hamburg, Germany just in time to catch a night in his own bed in Colorado Springs before flying out to Chicago on Friday morning.

Reser went undefeated in the division until he met RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo), a three-time National medalist. Reser dominated the match, but Cohen caught him with a throw for ippon (instant win) to take the victory. In their next match, Reser came out attacking and countered Cohen, throwing him for ippon.

Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo), a 2006 Pan Am medalist, faced little challenge in his matches, easily defeating all of his opponents to win the 81kg division, including a final match win where he threw Phillip Spano (North Lauderdale, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site) for ippon.

Anthony Turner (Miami Lakes, Fla. / Into Combat) beat both 2006 Pan Am Team member Kirk Hoffmann (Security, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) and second-ranked Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) to win the heavyweight division.

Turner and McCormick fought twice during the day. The first time the 2005 U.S. Open Champion came from behind after being down by penalties to double-leg McCormick for ippon. In their final match Turner pinned McCormick to win gold.

Last year’s National Champion Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio / Renshuden) dominated the 70kg division. After beating Senior National bronze medalist Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen), Harrison fought Jennifer Tutass (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center). In the final, Harrison put Tutass threw a clinic, throwing her with at least three different techniques before finishing off the match with an o soto gari (major outer reaping leg throw) for ippon.

Earlier in the day Tutass, a 2006 Collegiate Nationals runner up, beat Sell by two waza-aris (half-point each), leaving Sell to finish third overall.

Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute) won the 66kg division. Torra, who finished second at the 2006 Senior Nationals, counted two closely fought victories over seventh-ranked Josh O’Neil among his wins. O’Neil lost the first match on a penalty committed in the closing seconds of the match. The final was close won as well with Torra winning on points.

Six-time National Champion Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute) dominated a five-person 48kg division where she beat Diana Yoshida (Allen, Texas / Becerra Judo) twice to win gold.

In the women’s heavyweight division, Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) fought up from her usual 78kg division and upset the top two ranked women in the United States at +78kg. Sharif beat U.S. Open bronze medalist Lorey Edwards (Columbus, Ohio / Renshuden) in the preliminary rounds and then pinned top-ranked Brittni Bradford (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo) in two separate matches.

Earlier in the day, Edwards lost to her Renshuden teammate Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio) who also was fighting up from 78kg.

Grace Ohashi (Colorado Springs, Colo. / 52kg), a fifth-place finisher at the British and U.S. Opens, beat her USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center teammate Anna Palmer twice to win the division, throwing her with an o uchi gari (major inner reaping leg throw) in the final.

Top-ranked junior Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) won the 57kg division with two decisive wins over Nicki Schultheis (Gurnee, Ill. / Gurnee Judo), a 2006 Pan Am Junior silver medalist at 52kg.

In the latest match between #1 Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) and #2 Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami), Prado beat Liddie twice, throwing her for ippon in both matches.

In a 63kg division that featured a list of former 57kg players, Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill.), a four-time Senior Nationals medalist took the gold. Martini, who won four Senior National medals at 63kg before moving down to 57kg in 2006, beat Michelle Haggerty (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center), also a 57kg player in 2006, in the final.

Christal Ransom (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center), a three-time Senior National medalist at 57kg, made her return to competition for the first time since 2004, finishing third. Anastasia Krivosta (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown YMCA Judo) finisher fourth. Krivosta was the only one of the top five placers to have competed in the 63kg division at last year’s Nationals where she won a bronze medal. Fifth place was taken by Janine Nakao (Marina, Wash. / Bojuka Ryu) who finished fifth in the 57kg division at the 2006 Senior Nationals.

Miguel Ballesteros (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami / 60kg), Landry Ambouroue (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 90kg) and Artur Gasparyan (ARM / Bryan, Texas / TAMU) rounded out the day’s division winners.

Complete results are as follows:

Women’s 44kg

1. Veronica Prado (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

2. Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

Women’s 48kg

1. Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)

2. Diana Yoshida (Allen, Texas / Becerra)

3. Kayla Chappell (Oklahoma City, Okla. / USA Stars)

4. Stephanie Baim (Dallas, Texas / Fort Worth Judo)

5. Tina Thomas (Los Angeles, Calif. / Mojica)

Women’s 52kg

1. Grace Ohashi (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

2. Anna Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

3. Jessica Sternick (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo)

4. Mierielle Graves (Edwardsville, Mo. / USA Stars)

5. Whitney Lanfranco (College Station, Texas / TAMU)

Women’s 57kg

1. Angelica Delgado (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

2. Nicki Schultheis (Gurnee, Ill. / Gurnee Judo)

3. Mary Colleen Matthews (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

4. Veronica Graves (Edwardsville, Mo. / USA Stars)

5. Lydia Au (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon)

Women’s 63kg

1. Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon Judo)

2. Michelle Haggerty (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

3. Christal Ransom (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

4. Anastasia Krivosta (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown YMCA Judo)

5. Janine Nakao (Marina, Wash. / Bojuka Ryu)

Women’s 70kg

1. Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio / Renshuden)

2. Jennifer Tutass (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

3. Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)

4. Jessica Wooldridge (Bryan, Texas / TAMU)

5. Amy Hounlak-Stuck (Knoxville, Tenn. / UTMA Judo)

Women’s 78kg

1. Samantha Blerer (Ames, Iowa / ISU Judo)

2. Kelsi Bostic (Anderson, Ind. / Judan)

Women’s +78kg

1. Asma Sharif (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE)

2. Brittni Bradford (Live Oak, Texas / Universal Judo)

3. Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio / Renshuden)

4. Andrea Bongert (Dubuque, Iowa / Dubuque Judo)

5. Lorey Edwards (Columbus, Ohio / Renshuden)

Men’s 60kg

1. Miguel Ballesteros (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

2. Zaur Jalilzade (AZE / Brooklyn, N.Y. / Doc’s Gym)

3. Jeff Sato (Pismo Beach, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

4. Michael Delaney (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo)

5. Preston Kirkham (College Station, Texas / TAMU)

Men’s 66kg

1. Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)

2. Joshua O’Neil (Franklin, Wis. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

3. Zeitler Gerhard (GER / Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE)

4. Toshiya Nishimura (Centerville, Ohio / Renshuden)

5. Leonardo Lopes (Harrison, N.Y. / Westchester Judo)

Men’s 73kg

1. Ryan Reser (Security, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

2. RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo)

3. Danny Satinsky (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo)

4. Daniel Harris (Bronx, N.Y. / Westchester Judo)

5. Brad Yamanaka (Apple Valley, Minn. / Midway Judo)

Men’s 81kg

1. Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo)

2. Phillip Spano (North Lauderdale, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

3. Dominik Stepmayes (Champaign, Ill. / Illini Judo)

4. Iavor Kostadinov (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

5. Paul Krivosta (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown YMCA Judo)

Men’s 90kg

1. Landry Ambouroue (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

2. Jasung Koo (Pocatello, Idaho / Idaho State University)

3. Gary Cherny (Northglenn, Colo. / Denver Judo)

4. Omar Marquez (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon)

Men’s 100kg

1. Artur Gasparyan (ARM / Bryan, Texas / TAMU)

2. Aaron Handy (Fairfield, Ohio / Renshuden)

3. Micah Bellamy (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

4. Erik Ecker (Woodale / Military Arts Institute)

5. Joseph Yungwirth (Potomac Falls / Fight Works Judo)

Men’s +100kg

1. Anthony Turner (Miami Lakes, Fla. / Into Combat)

2. J. Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE)

3. Kirk Hoffmann (Security, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

4. Mick Van Kaminsky (Marquette, Wis. / Cohen’s Judo)

5. Brandon Cummings (Saginaw, Mich. / Tri Valley)

Men's Novice 66kg

1. Christopher Jones (College Station, Texas / TAMU)

2. Mike Lamatrice (Herndon / Fight Works Judo)

3. Geoff Warlick (Lawrence, Kans. / KU)

4. Kenneth Higa (Champaign, Ill. / Illini Judo)

Men's Novice 73kg

1. Samuel Johnston (College Station, Texas / TAMU)

2. Greg Blount (Ames, Iowa / ISU Judo)

3. Nate Shewman (Champaign, Ill. / Illini Judo)

Men's Novice 81kg

1. Brett Roettiger (Champaign, Ill. / Illini Judo)

2. Joseph Rossini (Knoxville, Tenn. / UTMA Judo Club)

3. Mark Coletta (West Lafayette, Ind. / Purdue)

4. Andrew Soto (Bryan, Texas / TAMU)

5. Evan Williams (Collierville, Tenn. / University of Tennessee Judo)

6. Brandon Franus (Chicago, Ill. / Military Arts Institute)

7. Gary Johnson (Sterling / Fight Works Judo)

8. Matthew Goard (Reston / Fight Works Judo)

Men's Novice 90kg

1. Jeremy Graham (Evansville, Ind. / Evansville Judo)

2. Anthony Cooling (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wisconsin Judo Club)

3. Josh Westerhorm (Oak Park, Ill. / Jiu-Jitsu Institute)

4. Patrick Gaul (Sterling / Fight Works Judo)

5. Josh Hayne (Minneapolis, Minn. / Doc's Gym)

Men's Novice 100kg

1. Calen Born (Lawrence, Kans. / KU)

2. Michael Getto (Palos Park / Midway Judo)

3. Nick Ellis (Oak Creek, Wis. / Wisconsin Judo Club)

4. Mark Weirich (Chicago, Ill. / Military Arts Institute)

Men's Novice +100kg

1. Matt Gavics (Plover, Wis. / USJA Stevens Point)

2. Phillip Cobbs (South Milwaukee, Wis. / South Milwaukee Judo)

Men's Masters 30-39

1. Jasung Koo (Pocatello, Idaho / ISU Judo)

2. Yusef Murphy (Lansing, Mich. / South Suburban Judo)

Men's Masters +40 Light

1. John Amtmann (Butte / West Side Judo)

2. Richard Boehme (Kalamazoo, Mich. / South Side Dojo)

Men's Masters +40 Middle

1. Andy Campos (Flossmoor / South Suburban)

2. Scott Gray (Middleburg Heights, Ohio / Chu To Bu)

Men's Masters +40 Heavy

1. Bill Perron (Burleson, Texas / Fort Worth Judo)

2. Ivan Shvets (Vernon, Ill. / Cohen's Judo)

3. Miles Petrus (Hinsdale / Midwest)