Left to right: Jee-Shaun Wang, Jay Beito, Angelo Kagaoan (front), Cole Stanford (back), Sebastian Casallas, Larry McWalters, Jonah Ewell, Ivan Mumm, Cody Costello.
The 2021 USA Judo Senior Nationals were held in Reno, Nevada on May 15th and 16th. After more than a year off from competition, 510 Judo sent a team of novice and veteran players to participate in the national championships. The tournament ran smoothly, despite extra procedures like double-covid testing for all attendees (referees, competitors, spectators, staff) and masks for all, except competitors during their actual matches.
Thanks to a grant from the United States Olympic Council, USA Judo was able to livestream the entire tournament. If you missed it, the recorded matches can be found here in huge seven hour chunks. Check the 510 Judo YouTube channel for individual matches from our team.
Big congratulations to Jay for taking bronze in two divisions (brown belt and novice). Sebastian took gold in his uncontested veterans division, but also had matches in the brown belt division. Angelo, Jee-Shaun, and Cole didn’t place but had great outings. Sean unfortunately sustained a shoulder injury in his very first match and had to pull out of the tournament.
Sensei Cody had a good day representing Griffin Performance Judo, taking home the bronze in the Senior Elite +100kg division. Here is his bronze medal match:
Sensei Jonah Ewell also did well, taking gold in the M3 (40-44) -100kg division. Here is his gold medal match:
Many thanks to Sensei Larry and Sensei Ivan for coaching our guys throughout the day! And of course BIG THANKS to all the families, wives in particular, who supported our competitors on and off the mat throughout the build up to and training for the tournament, as well as during the weekend.
There are still no tournaments scheduled in the state of California, but hopefully things will return to normal soon. As far as we know, the next tournament anywhere close to us will be the Winternationals in Las Vegas, in early December.
Please enjoy these pictures from the tournament.
