U S JudoJUDO: Past Junior National Champions and Pan American Medalists to Compete This Weekend in San JoseFor Immediate Release
July 7, 2006
Contact: Nicole Jomantas, 719.761.7909
Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us
(San Jose, Calif.) – The USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships kick off Saturday at the San Jose State University Event Center. This event is a point tournament for athletes on the USA Judo Junior Elite National Rosters and serves as one of the last opportunities for athletes to qualify to compete at the Junior World Championship Trials, July 29 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Competition will run on both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. with many top junior players scheduled to compete. Athletes ages 6-12 will compete Saturday while 13-19-year-olds will fight on Sunday.
Tony Sangimino (Burlingame, Calif./CahillR17;s Judo) is considered to be one of the top junior athletes competing this weekend. Although only 15-years-old, Sangimino is the top-ranked athlete at 100kg on the under-20 roster. Sangimino, who also is ranked as a senior, won the silver medal earlier this year at the Pan American Juvenile Championships in Colorado Springs.
Aaron Kunihiro (Covina, Calif./San Gabriel Judo Dojo) was the top-ranked U.S. senior athlete at 55kg in 2005, winning silver medal at last year’s Senior Pan Ams. This year Kunihiro has moved up to the 60kg division and will be an athlete to watch this weekend.
Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden) moved up to 70kg for the first time at the High School Championships in March, winning not only that event, but also producing a surprise victory at the Senior Nationals in Houston. One of Harrison’s biggest rivals in the division, top-ranked junior Katie Sell (Oshkosh, Wis./Welcome Mat Judo) also will be competing. Harrison beat Sell during their last match-up at the High School Nationals.
Taylor Ibera (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Tenri Judo) is just one of a large contingent of athletes from Hawaii who will be competing this weekend. Ibera won the bronze medal at 44kg in her first appearance at the Senior Nationals in April. Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center), last year’s Junior U.S. Open Champion, also won a bronze medal at Senior Nationals. The two have never fought, but may meet up for the first time this weekend.
In addition to Sangimino, other local athletes of note include:
Mike and Sophia Swain (San Jose, Calif.), son and daughter of Mike Swain, the first American man to win a judo World Champion (1987)
Lisette Abad (San Jose, Calif.), 2005 Junior National Champion. Abad is a 15-year-old who trains with the After-School All-Stars, a program founded in 15 cities by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Abad was expected to be a podium contender at the Senior Nationals in April, but had to skip the event due to a knee injury. Abad’s two sisters also are Junior National Champions and her father also is a cancer survivor.
Corwin Learned (El Granada, Calif.) is looking for his first Junior National title. Learned, another of Cahill’s athletes, is an up-and-coming lightweight who went to try out for his high school wrestling team as a freshman this year and was told that he was too small for even the lightest division, but was invited to train with the team. By the end of the season, Learned won the county championships – largely through the use of judo techniques.
Also among this weekend’s competitors are several past medalists from the Pan American Infantile Championships:
Kyle Taketa (Torrance, Calif./Gardena), 2005 Pan American Infantile Championships gold medalist
Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I./Mayo Quanchi Judo), 2005 Pan American Infantile Championships gold medalist
Max Schneider (Chicago, Ill./Tohkon), 2005 Pan American Infantile Championships bronze medalist
Matthias Montez (Manteca, Calif./After-School All-Stars) , 2004 Pan American Infantile Champion
Kelsi Bostic (Anderson, Ind./Anderson YMCA), 2005 Pan American Infantile Championships bronze medalist
Other top athletes scheduled to compete include:
Anthony Aguilar (Ontario, Calif./Guerreros Judo), 2006 San Jose Buddhist Sensei Memorial silver medalist at 55kg
Brenna Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo), 2005 Senior Irish Open silver medalist at 48kg, #2 on the under-20 roster
Tara Clark (Hercules, Calif./Okubu/APOA Judo), 2006 Senior Benito Juarez Championships bronze medalist at 57kg
Paula Duarte (Baldwin Park, Calif./Mojica Judo), 2006 High School National Champion at 57kg
Jeff Fujimoto (Los Angeles, Calif./Sawtelle), 2005 USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships silver medalist
Jacob Larsen (Redwood, Calif./Santa Rosa Judo Club), 2006 High School Nationals silver medalist at 90kg
Natalie Laursen (Livermore, Calif./Amador Judo), 2006 High School Nationals silver medalist at 63kg
Zachary Maes (Wheatridge, Colo./Northglenn Judo), 2006 High School Champion at 51kg
Heidi Metzler (Mainheim, Pa./Mayo Quanchi Judo), fifth-place at 2006 Senior Nationals at 52kg
Ross Nakamura (Mission Hills, Calif./Valley Judo Institute), 2006 High School National Champion at 66kg
For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 719.761.7909.
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