U.S. Athletes Win Five Gold Medals on First Day of Benito Juarez

U.S. Athletes Win Five Gold Medals on First Day of Benito Juarez
By Nicole Jomantas // USA Judo // November 5, 2007
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(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Team USA ended the first day of competition at the Benito Juarez Championships, a USA Judo Senior D-Level Point Tournament in Merida, Mexico, with five gold medals in the heavyweight divisions.
Five-time Pan Am medalist Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo) earned his gold medal in the 81kg division with three wins in a combined total of 65 seconds. Cohen threw Davor Vasiljevic (San Jose , Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) with a te guruma (hand wheel throw) in 12 seconds. Cohen’s next two rounds lasted eight and 45 seconds against Cuban and Mexican opponents, respectively. Cohen countered his Cuban opponent’s kata guruma (fireman’s carry) with a throw for ippon before throwing his Mexican opponent in the final.
Vasiljevic went on to place third, beating Akin Kirtulan (Plano, Texas / Okuri Judo) in the bronze medal match. Robert Turnquest (Honolulu, Hawaii / Kamehameha Judo) placed fifth on the other side of the bracket after losing to Cuba.
Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) became the only current U.S. player to hold top-eight National Rankings in three Olympic weight divisions when she won the 63kg division with a 2-0 record. Chandler is the reigning National Champion in the 52kg division as well as a medalist during the past two weekends at the Rendez-Vous Canada and U.S. Open in the 57kg division.
Katie Mocco (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) won her first international tournament since moving up from 70kg to 78kg where she went undefeated, dominating her opponents on the ground.
Like the three aforementioned gold medalists, Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) was a 2006 Pan Am Team member. Leondhardt won the round-robin +100kg division with Derek Alef (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Ynez Valley Judo) taking second. Fifty-two-year-old Daniel Pagter (San Geronimo, Calif. / Cahill's Judo Academy) and junior player Nicholas Gohn (Livermore, Calif. / Amador Judo) each won bronze medals.
Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen) won her first senior international title, taking gold in the 70kg division. Tomoyo Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) and Jennifer Tutass (El Cerrito, Calif. / Cunningham’s Judo Club) won bronze medals.
Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) won a silver medal in the 90kg division. Yuko Sin (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center), a 2006 Junior World Team member at 81kg, beat top-ranked junior Jacob Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif. / Redwood Coast Judo) in the bronze medal match. Alex Maratos (Palmetto Bay, Fla. / Miami Judo Academy) also fought for bronze, but lost to a Mexican opponent and placed fifth.
Joseph Aceto (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) won the silver medal in the 100kg division, losing to a Brazilian opponent in the final.
For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, at 719.866.4732 or Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us.

FONTE: USOlympicTeam.com - USA

http://www.usolympicteam.com/