May 9, 2006

Eighteen Athletes Qualify for 2006 Pan American Championship Team 

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Following the USA Judo Senior National Championships, held April 21-22 in Houston, Texas, 18 athletes have qualified to compete at the Pan American Championships, May 24-29 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The Pan American Championships are the first in a series of Olympic qualifiers for countries within the Pan American region that will include the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Championships as well as the 2007 Pan American Games.  

In order to qualify in each of the 14 Olympic weight divisions, a country must finish in the top three (for women) or top six (for men) overall rankings following the conclusion of the Olympic qualifying events. 

The National Championships served as the main qualifying event for the 2006 Pan Am Team.  Athletes who were ranked as the top seed leading into the Championships and won the event were awarded the slot for their division on the Pan Am Team.  Those who won Nationals, but were lower or non-seeds competed in a best-of-three Pan Am Trials against the top seed immediately following the Nationals finals matches. 

The following athletes qualified for the team by winning the USA Judo Senior National Championships as the #1 seed at the event: 

Women

52kg:     Carrie Chandler (1st picture right  - Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center)

57kg:     Valerie Gotay (Temecula, Calif./Judo America/)

63kg:     Ronda Rousey (Right - Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo)

 

Men

66kg:     Taylor Takata (Wahiawa, Hawaii/Harlingen USA Judo National Training Site)

73kg:     Ryan Reser (Right - Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

81kg:     Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen’s Judo) - 4th Picture right, Cohen fighting at Hamburg

90kg:     Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo)

The following top seeded athletes qualified for the team by winning a best-of-three Pan American Trials fight-off against the National Champion:

 Women

44kg:     Veronica Prado (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site) def. Daimisy Porras (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), 2-1.

48kg:     Sayaka Matsumoto (5th Picture right - El Cerrito, Calif./NYAC/East Bay Judo Institute) def. Jeanette Rodriguez (Margate, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), 2-0.

70kg:     Katie Mocco (Glenville, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center) def. Kayla Harrison (Middletown, Ohio/Renshuden), 2-1.

+78kg:   Eva Smith (Fall River, Mass./Taki-Gawa), def. Melinda Swanson (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Tenri), 2-0

 Men

60kg:     Jeremy Liggett (Scotia, N.Y./NYAC/Jason Morris Judo Center) def. Rafael Ramos (North Lauderdale, Fla./North Miami USA Judo National Training Site), 2-0

100kg:   Djamaldin Aliev (Greenwood Village, Colo./European Judo) def. Denis Utkin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo), 2-0

+100kg: Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) def. Joel Brutus (New York City, N.Y./NYAC), walkover due to an injury sustained by Brutus. 

The following athletes qualified for the team by defeating the top seed in his/her division in the final to win the National Championship and then defeated the top seed in a best-of-three Pan American Trials fight-off.

Women

78kg:     Nikki Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas/Fort Worth Judo) def. Molly O’Rourke (El Cerrito, Calif./East Bay Judo Institute), 2-0.

Men

55kg:     Hiram Cruz (Jacksonville, Fla./RYU Judo Jacksonville) def. Andre Taylor (Plano, Texas/Becerra Judo), 2-1. 

In the Open division, Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif./San Jose State University) was the top American at the Nationals, finishing fifth and defeating top seed Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas/Bedford Kodokan Judo Club), 2-0, in the Trials.  On the women’s side, top-seeded Nina Cutro-Kelly (Albany, N.Y./Judo America) defeated Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo./Denver Judo), 2-0, in the Trials.  Moore, the silver medalist in the division, was the top American at the event. 

For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, 719.866.4732 or Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.us.