Junior World Trials to be Held in Georgia This Weekend

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - More than 700 athletes are expected to compete in the USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships this weekend that also will serve as the Trials for the U.S. Team that will compete at the 2010 Junior World Championships in October in Morocco.

Competition will be held from 9 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m. at the Gwinnett Convention Center in Duluth, Ga.

Competition on Saturday will include the Juvenile A, B and Bantam divisions.  Sunday’s divisions include the Intermediate 1 and 2 and IJF-Junior divisions.

The gold and silver medalists in each IJF-Junior division will be named to the Junior World Team.

Among the athletes and match-ups to watch for are the following: 

• Taylor Ibera (Honolulu Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) has won both junior and senior national titles in the 44kg division, but this will be Ibera’s final opportunity to qualify for a Junior World Team.
• A fifth-place finisher at both the Junior and Cadet World Championships in the 48kg division, 16-year-old Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / NYAC / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) has only lost one match to an American during the past year and has the goal of both qualifying for the Junior World Team and reaching the podium on her second attempt at the event.
• Jessica Irons (Yorkville, Ill. / Team FORCE / Yorkville Judo) competed at the 2009 Cadet World Championships in the 52kg division after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2009 Junior World Team.  Irons sat out much of the season with injuries, but came back at the National President’s Cup Championships last month where she defeated top seed Amelia Fulgentes (Simi Valley, Calif. / Mojica) and Senior National silver medalist Alaine Abuan (Jersey City, N.J. / Tech Judo).
• One of the women’s divisions with the most depth at the event, any number of 57kg players could qualify for the Junior World Team.  Top seed Crystal Butts (Fontana, Calif. / LACC) and Lauren Baez (Coral Gables, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida) both placed fifth at the Senior Nationals earlier this year and are each looking to qualify as first-time Junior World Team members.  A 2009 Senior World Team member in the 52kg division, Kayla Chappell (Oklahoma City, Okla. / USA Stars) fought for much of the last year in the 63kg division, but has since moved down to 57kg where she also hopes to make her first Junior World Team.
• The men’s 55kg division includes three former U.S. Team members.  Aaron Fukuhara (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo Club) placed second at the Senior Pan American Championships in April while Corwin Learned (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) hopes to improve on last year’s seventh place finish at the 2009 Junior Worlds.  A 2009 Cadet World Team member in the 50kg division, Anthony Sek (Providence, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) has moved up to the 55kg division for this year’s event.
• The 2009 Junior World Team member in the 66kg division, top seed Anthony Kwon (Kaneohe, Hawaii / Hodokan) and former Senior Pan Am medalist Kyle Taketa (Torrance, Calif. / Gardena Judo) fought in the finals of the 2009 Junior Olympics and could meet again to fight for gold this year.  A bronze medalist at the U.S. Open and Cadet World Team member in the 60kg division, Everet Desilets (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) will compete for the first time in the 66kg division at a major event where he could provide a challenge to both Kwon and Taketa as well as #2 seed Austin Cook (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center). 
  
• Andrew Porras (Hiahleah, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at South Florida) competed on the 2009 Junior World Team in the 73kg division and returns to the same weight as the top seed after winning bronze at the 2009 U.S. Open. 
  
• A 2009 Junior World Team member in the 81kg division, Colton Brown (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) was a surprise medalist at the 2009 Senior Nationals and returned to the podium at this year’s Nationals when he placed second in the 90kg division.
  
• After competing on the last two Junior World Teams in the +100kg division, Colin Robinson (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) moved down to 100kg this year.  Robinson’s greatest challenge will come from top seed Dane Pestano (Waimanalo, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri) who defeated Robinson at the Youth and Scholastic Nationals in March.

Tags: Aaron Fukuhara, Alaine Abuan, Amelia Fulgentes, Anthony Kwon, Anthony Sek, Corwin Learned, Crystal Butts, Everet Desilets, Everett Desilets, Jessica Irons, Katelyn Bouyssou, Kayla Chappell, Kyle Taketa, Lauren Baez, Taylor Ibera