Congrats to all the Floridian Judoka that competed in the 2006 Fall Classic
Nationals.

Special congrats to the following Floridian Judoka who placed:

Women’s 48kg
3rd Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training
Site & Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Women’s 52kg
1st Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site & Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Women’s 57kg
3rd Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo Club)

Men’s 60kg
2nd Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site & Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Men’s 60kg
3rd Miguel Ballesteros (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site & Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Men’s 73kg
2nd Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site &
Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Men’s 100kg
1st Adler Volmar (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site &
Ki-Itsu-Sai)

Men’s +100kg
1st Anthony Turner Jr. (Miami, Fla. / Intocombat)

Men’s Open
2nd Patrik Bokor (Winter Park, Fla. / Central Florida Judo and Jujitsu)

(See complete writeup and results below from USA Judo)


--- USAJudoNews@... wrote:

From: USAJudoNews@...
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 22:00:20 EDT
Subject: 2006 Fall Classic Nationals Results

2006 Fall Classic Nationals Results

(Harlingen, Texas) – Saturday’s action at the Fall
Classic Nationals featured excellent judo from some of
the top-ranked players in the country as well as
close-call matches and comeback stories.

Justin Flores (Palo Alto, Calif. / San Shi Judo Club)
was the top-ranked player in the United States in 2005
in the 66kg division. A National Champion who had
placed in the top five on the European Tour, the
25-year-old took a break from competition after the
World Championships in September and didn’t resurface
again until the Senior Nationals in April.

Although the self-imposed break caused his #1 ranking
to drop, Flores was considered a favorite to reclaim
his title at the Senior Nationals – until an injured
knee in an early match shut him out of the competition
entirely.

Earlier this week Flores returned to competition,
easily winning the Golden State Open at 73kg on Sunday
before coming down to Harlingen to compete in the
heavier division.

“I’ve only competed a handful of times since Worlds
and so I just wanted to start getting some matches in
without having to worry about cutting weight,” Flores
said. “I’m going back to 66kg for the Rendez-Vous and
U.S. Open, so I wanted to get some fights in, but not
worry about winning or losing, just going out and
doing judo.”

With no expectations or pressure to be had, Flores
went undefeated, winning five matches and the gold
medal.

Unprotected by seeding, Flores had a difficult half of
the draw, meeting Junior World Team member and New
York Open bronze medalist Nick Delpopolo (Scotia, N.Y.
/ Jason Morris Judo Center) in the second round.

Flores came out fast, throwing Delpopolo in the first
15 seconds of the match for a yuko score
(quarter-point). Although Delpopolo tried to pick up
a score of his own, he never managed to produce one
and Flores took the match.

In his next match, Flores and 17-year-old Senior
Nationals bronze medalist Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla.
/ North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) were
evenly matched until the final 30 seconds when Flores
threw Lee with a low, rolling kata guruma (fireman’s
carry).

No score was called and the clock continued to wear
down until Flores repeated the same throw with 12
seconds left.

“The first time I did it, maybe the throw was too
slow, but when I did it again, I think I sealed the
deal.”

With just over a minute remaining in his next match
with Senior Nationals silver medalist Radu Brestyan
(Medway, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center), the score was
tied at a yuko (quarter-point) a piece after, Brestyan
was handed a pair of shidos.

In the final minute, Flores threw Brestyan with an
uchimata (inner thigh throw) for ippon (instant win)
and the match.

Brestyan subsequently withdrew from the remainder of
the tournament with an injury and would finish third.

Meanwhile, Lee fought through the loser’s pool where
he and Delpopolo would compete to fight Flores for
gold.

Like their last matchup at the Junior U.S. Open final
a month ago, neither athlete scored during the match
with both attacking consistently to avoid penalties.
Less than 30 seconds into the overtime session, Lee
caught Delpopolo in the corner with a throw for ippon.

The Golden Score (overtime) session was brought back
again half an hour later when Flores and Lee fought
for gold. With neither scoring during the regulation
period, Flores threw Lee for ippon more than two
minutes into overtime to win the match and the
division.

“I had to move a lot more [in the 73kg division]. I
had to find a lot more angles and fight a much more
technical match and just kept coming at them and I
could feel them all start to diminish slowly during
the match,” Flores said. “I used everything I had and
threw it all out there.”

Flores hopes to finish his undergraduate degree in the
next semester and then focus on judo until the Beijing
Olympic Games in 2008.

“I’m really excited to be able to work on doing judo
full-time and focus on training my hardest for the
next two years,” Flores said.

Men’s heavyweight Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. /
IntoCombat) had a difficult serious of competitors,
but dominated his division, winning each of four
matches by ippon, including a defeat over #1 Daniel
McCormick (Arlington, Texas / Bedford Kodokan Judo
Club) and two wins against Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado
Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo
National Training Site).

Saturday’s win will move Turner into the #1 Senior
Elite National ranking in the division, while 2005
National Champion Hoffmann will move to #2 and
McCormick will fall to #3.

At 45-years-old, two-time Olympian Rene Capo (Ballston
Lake, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center) was the oldest
competitor of the tournament, but made a striking
comeback Saturday, winning a silver medal in the 100kg
division.

Capo came in unseeded, but fought his way through the
division for a three-match final with 1996 Hatian
Olympian and 2006 Senior Nationals bronze medalist
Adler Volmar (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo
National Training Site). The two split the first two
matches. Although Capo sustained an injury during his
win in the second match over Volmar, he continued to
compete in the third match, but ultimately tapped out
and settled for the silver medal.

In the men’s 66kg division, hometown favorite and
Hawaii native Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas /
Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site) quickly
found himself fighting a lineup of National and
international medalists in rapid succession.

First up was Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y. / NYAC /
Jason Morris Judo Center), a Pan American silver
medalist and Junior World Team member at 60kg who was
fighting up this weekend.

After picking up an early koka (smallest points), the
score became tied when Takata was handed a penalty
just under two minutes into the match. Takata quickly
became the aggressor, though and threw Liggett for
ippon on the next attack.

Liggett subsequently lost his next match to his JMJC
teammate AJ Silverman (Scotia, N.Y.) and was
eliminated from the tournament.

Next up, Takata drew Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. /
East Bay Judo Institute) for a reprise of their final
from the Senior Nationals in April. Following a close
match in which the score was tied after Takata was
given two shidos, Takata won the match to advance to
the final where he subsequently threw his former
Olympic Training Center teammate Josh O’Neil (Colorado
Springs, Colo.) for ippon.

O’Neil then moved down to the loser’s bracket to fight
second-ranked Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. /
Northglenn Judo Club) for the second time. Previously
O’Neil had beaten Hashimoto in an earlier round, but
with the scored tied, Hashimoto threw O’Neil for a
yuko with 21 seconds on the clock to guarantee the
match.

After battling through the day’s toughest division,
Takata still had enough energy for a five-minute match
with Hashimoto, winning the gold by two yukos.

National Champion Valerie Gotay (57kg) also competed
this weekend for the Harlingen USA Judo Training Site
after moving to South Texas from Temecula, Calif.
several weeks ago.

Gotay won each of her first three matches through
groundwork, including wins over Nicki Schultheis
(Gurnee, Ill. / Gurnee Judo), the #2-ranked junior at
52kg and Senior Nationals bronze medalist Ashlie
Martini (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon).

Gotay and Martini met again for a second time in the
finals where she threw the former 63kg player with an
o soto gari (major outer reaping) for ippon and the
gold medal.

“I really enjoy fighting on the ground, but Israel
[Hernandez, Harlingen Head Coach and two-time Olympic
medalist] and I have been working on my stand-up judo
and we really wanted to finish that last match with a
throw.”

Gotay, a 1992 Olympian, just completed her relocation
to Harlingen a week ago where she trains under
Hernandez and alongside Takata and sister Natalie
Lafon, the #2-ranked athlete at 52kg.

“Israel is the full package. I’ve never met a coach
like him. He’s educated in every way: training,
athletics, psychology, strength and conditioning,
everything,” Gotay said. “I’ve only been here a short
while, but I’m looking forward to how I’m going to
improve because my judo is only going to go up from
here.”

In the women’s 52kg division, reigning National
Champion Carrie Chandler (Scotia, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason
Morris Judo Center) was the favorite coming into the
event and led by a koka early in her first match
against 2004 Junior World Team member Anna Palmer
(Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA
Judo National Training Site).

Palmer, however, was in the middle of sankaku
(triangle hold) when Chandler sustained an injury.
The 2005 Pan American gold medalist opted to continue
the match and threw Palmer for ippon before
withdrawing from the tournament.

Palmer would go on to win over Senior Nationals silver
medalist to advance to the final match against Senior
Nationals bronze medalist Franchesca Durand (Coral
Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training
Site).

The two looked to be headed to Golden Score when
Palmer attempted a double leg takeout, only to be
caught be Durand and thrown at the buzzer.

In the women’s 48kg division, Sayaka Matsumoto (El
Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)
revisited her finals match with Jeanette Rodriguez
(Margate, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site) from the Senior National Championships
during the Fall Classic finals.

This time Matsumoto dominating the match, choking the
16-year-old to end the match and send Rodriguez down
to the loser’s bracket in the true-double elimination
tournament.

Earlier in the day, Rodriguez fought Senior Nationals
bronze medalist Ann Shiraishi (El Cerrito, Calif. /
East Bay Judo Institute) in a 10-minute Golden Score
epic match that ended in a decision by flags for
Rodriguez.

In the loser's bracket, however, Shiraishi got the
win, pinning the Junior World Team member.

Rodriguez finished third while Matsumoto pinned
Shiraishi in the gold medal match to win the division.

Also on the women’s side, Athens Olympian Ronda Rousey
(Santa Monica, Calif. / NYAC) routed each of her three
opponents by ippon, including defeats of 2006 Senior
Nationals silver medalist Kristen Allan (Springfield,
Va. / Sport Judo) and a four-second dispatch of
Christine Ellis (Westfield, N.J. / Cranford).


Complete results are as follows:

Women’s 44kg
1. Alexa Liddie (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo
National Training Site)
2. Margaret Drake (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center)


Women’s 48kg
1. Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)
2. Ann Shiraishi (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute)
3. Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training
Site)


Women’s 52kg
1. Franchesca Durand (Coral Springs, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site)
2. Anna Plamer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo
National Training Site)
3. Natalie Lafon (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)


Women’s 57kg
1. Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)
2. Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon Judo Club)
3. Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo Club)


Women’s 63kg
1. Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica, Calif. / NYAC)
2. Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va. / Sport Judo)
3. Anastasia Krivosta (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown YMCA)


Women’s 70kg
1. Katie Mocco (Scotia, N.Y. / NYAC / Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / Halringen USA Judo National Training Site)
3. Tomoyo Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State University Judo Club)


Women’s 78kg
1. Molly O’Rourke (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute)
2. Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo)
3. Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center)


Men’s 55kg
1. Arnold Toriumi (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri)
2. Jose Cos (Elbert, Colo. / Olympic Training Center Juniors)
3. Zachary Maes (Wheat Ridge, Colo. / Northglenn Judo Club)


Men’s 60kg
1. Nick Kossor (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training
Site)
3. Miguel Ballesteros (North Lauderdale, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National
Training Site)


Men’s 66kg
1. Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)
2. Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. / Northglenn Judo)
3. Josh O’Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo
National Training Site)


Men’s 73kg
1. Justin Flores (Palo Alto, Calif. / San Shi)
2. Bobby Lee (Lauderhill, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)
3. Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center)


Men’s 81kg
1. Travis Stevens (San Jose, Calif. / San Jose State)
2. David Ellis (Westfield, N.J. / Cranford)
3. Andrew Hung


Men’s 90kg
1. Jake Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif. / Redwood Judo)
2. Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calf. / San Jose State)
3. Justen Otaka (Northglenn, Colo. / Northglenn Judo)


Men’s 100kg
1. Adler Volmar (Miami, Fla. / North Miami USA Judo National Training Site)
2. Rene Capo (Scotia, N.Y. / Jason Morris Judo Center)
3. Derek Alef (Goleta, Calif. / Santa Ynez Judo)


Men’s +100kg
1. Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / Intocombat)
2. Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo
National Training Site)
3. Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas / Bedford Kodokan)


Men’s Open
1. Adam Blackburn (Salt Lake City, Utah / USA Stars)
2. Patrik Bokor (Winter Park, Fla. / Central Florida Judo and Jujitsu)