Cadets Collect 10 Medals at Pan Am-Oceania Championships
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by Bill Kellick
(Colorado Springs, CO) – The U.S. team won 10 medals, including two golds, at the Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championships in Lima, Peru, on Friday.
The top U17 athletes in the nation competed against athletes from 19 other countries and finished third in the medal standings behind Brazil and Canada.
Kanta Ueyama (Burbank, Calif. / LA Tenri Judo / +90 kg) and Amaris Bell (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center / 44 kg) both won gold medals for their respective divisions.
Ueyama entered his third Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championships as a two-time silver medalist who is ranked No. 2 in the world at +90 kg. Ueyama upgraded to gold on Friday, winning by ippon (instant win) over Edgar Molina (ARG) in the semifinals and then scoring a yuko (quarter-point) for the only point tallied in the finals against Franck David Moussima Ewane Elouti (CAN).
Competing in her first Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championships, Bell opened the tournament with two throws for waza-ari (half-point) scores against Jaelyn Abraham (CAN). In the next round, she scored an ippon victory over Giovanna Imhof (BRA) and then came back to defeat Imhof again in the final by yuko.
Silver medalists on Friday were Luka Tsikarishvili (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Darfight / 73 kg), Malia Manibog (San Gabriel, Calif. / San Gabriel Judo Dojo / 48 kg), Theodore Lehmen (Jefferson City, Mo. / Jefferson City Judo Club / 66 kg) and Rhadi Ferguson (Tampa, Fla. / High Noon Judo / +70 kg). Tsikarishvili, Lehmen and Ferguson were all competing on their first Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championship team.
Tsikarishvili defeated Jose Villanueva (PER) in the quarterfinals by ippon and Sebastian Talamilla (CHI) in the semi-finals by waza-ari, before losing by ippon to Joao Gabriel Moura (BRA) in the finals of the men's 73 kg competition.
Manibog won her third straight silver medal at the event. She reached the finals of the women's 48 kg division by defeating Ambre Popoff (PYF) and Maria Valencia (CHI). In the finals, world No. 5 Rika Hirose (AUS) scored an ippon victory over Manibog.
Lehmen strung together three straight wins to make the men's 66 kg final. He scored a win by waza-ari over Fernando Mitsuda (BRA), and a win by ippon over Agustin Ledesma (PAR) in the quarterfinals, and another waza-ari win over Hector Mieres (PER) in the semifinals. Lehmen fell by waza-ari to Connor Gallant (CAN) in the gold medal match.
Ferguson, the daughter of 2004 Olympian Rhadi Ferguson, notched back-to-back ippon wins over Eloisa Arevalo (PER) and Emily Harris (CAN) to reach the final of the women's +70 kg division. In the gold medal match, world No. 11 Olivia Oliveira (BRA) was able to score two waza-aris against Ferguson to take the gold medal.
U.S. bronze medalists on the day were Samuel Abdelmalak (Punta Gorda, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center / 50 kg), Adrian Cohen (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Cohen Brothers Judo Club / 60 kg), Chloe Williams (Stafford, Va. / High Noon Judo / 70 kg) and Sebastian Teran (Pompano Beach, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center / 55 kg). Abdelmalak, Cohen and Teran were all fighting in their first Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championships.
Abdelmalak took bronze in the men's 50 kg class by defeating Akhmed Loliev (CAN). Cohen beat Jorge Mayorga (GUA) to claim bronze in the men's 60 kg competition. Williams, competing on her third Cadet Pan Am-Oceania Championship team, defeated countrywoman Chrystal Monthe Noussi (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club) to take bronze in the women's 70 kg division. Teran notched a bronze with a win over Xavier Brouillette (CAN) in the men's 55 kg class.
Competition in Lima continues on Saturday with the Junior (U20) Pan Am-Oceania Championships.
Top eight and U.S. cadet results are as follows:
Men’s 50 kg
1. Gabriel Cruz (BRA)
2. Oleksandr Smakula (CAN)
3. Piero Herrera (PER)
3. Samuel Abdelmalak (Punta Gorda, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center)
5. Guillermo Carrizo (CHI)
5. Akhmed Loliev (CAN)
7. Emiliano Garcia (ECU)
Also Competed: Jannaco Searcy (Atlanta, Ga. / Black Ice Judo), 0-2
Women’s 40 kg
1. Ana Paula Sena (BRA)
2. Ashlee Lopez (PER)
Men’s 55 kg
1. Victor Hugo Silva (BRA)Esteban Maldonado (ARG)
2. Esteban Maldonado (ARG)
3. Benjamin Molina (ARG)
3. Sebastian Teran (Pompano Beach, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center)
5. Juan Torres Arango (COL)
5. Xavier Brouillette (CAN)
7. Matias Chehuan (CHI)
7. Roman Semyrozum (CAN)
Women’s 44 kg
1. Amaris Bell (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center)
2. Giovanna Imhof (BRA)
Men’s 60 kg
1. Lucas Yamamoto (BRA)
2. Diego Garcia Ramirez (DOM)
3. Lautaro Cruces (ARG)
3. Adrian Cohen (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Cohen Brothers Judo Club)
5. Amir Temirbaev (CAN)
5. Jorge Mayorga (GUA)
7. Max Pogreb (AUS)
7. Crosby Peake (AUS)
Women’s 48 kg
1. Rika Hirose (AUS)
2. Malia Manibog (San Gabriel, Calif. / San Gabriel Judo Dojo)
3. Sarah Mendes (BRA)
3. Addyson Tamura (CAN)
5. Maria Valencia (CHI)
5. Ambre Popoff (PYF)
7. Noelia Paz (BOL)
7. Bianca Gonzales (PER)
Men’s 66 kg
1. Connor Gallant (CAN)
2. Theodore Lehmen (Jefferson City, Mo. / Jefferson City Judo Club)
3. Fernando Mitsuda (BRA)
3. Hector Mieres (PER)
5. Thiago Carvallo (ARG)
5. Emiliano Paz (BOL)
7. Jonas Guanipa (PER)
Women’s 52 kg
1. Nicole Marques (BRA)
2. Melody Grenier (CAN)
3. Renata Vasquez (ECU)
3. Maegan Grooten (CAN)
5. Aubrey Genereux (Port Saint Lucie, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai National Training Center)
5. Ayinko Toloza (CHI)
7. Fatima Ramirez (PAR)
Men’s 73 kg
1. Joao Gabriel Moura (BRA)
2. Luka Tsikarishvili (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Darfight)
3. Yeison Quejada Moreno (COL)
3. Lowen LeBris (CAN)
5. Sebastian Talamilla (CHI)
5. Enzo Peralta (PAR)
Women’s 57 kg
1. Manuela Maia (BRA)
2. Myroslava Bondarenko (CAN)
3. Maya Aubert Gomez (ESA)
3. Nicole Chasi (ECU)
5. Adelina Tate (Canterbury, Conn. / Top Game Martial Arts)
5. Isidora Palma (CHI)
Also Competed: Ellianna Abbott (Rayne, La. / Louisiana Judo), 0-2
Men’s 81 kg
1. Tristan Bourque (CAN)
2. Akos Kelly (AUS)
3. Ruan Vasconcelos (BRA)
3. Valentino Flores (PER)
5. Shota Kundukhashvili (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Caucasas Judo)
5. Julio Armando Avila Rios (MEX)
Women’s 63 kg
1. Maia Thomson (CAN)
2. Anna Julia Sperling (BRA)
3. Lily Tai Tin (AUS)
3. Victoria Summer (CAN)
5. Kaiya Johnston (Queen Creek, Ariz. / Shogun Judo BJJ)
5. Katherine Galarza (ECU)
Men’s 90 kg
1. Cesar De Godoy Tristante (BRA)
2. Tomas Quinteros (ARG)
3. Matthew Molchanov (CAN)
4. Nicholas Zadvinskiy (Staten Island, N.Y. / Cranford JKC)
Also Competed: Christian Corchado (New Britain, Conn. / New Britain Judo and Dynamic Arts), 0-2
Women’s 70 kg
1. Mariana Giachini (BRA)
2. Charlie Thibault (CAN)
3. Missy Jen Dorval Mbele (CAN)
3. Chloe Williams (Stafford, Va. / High Noon Judo)
5. Hannah McHenry (AUS)
5. Chrystal Monthe Noussi (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo Club)
7. Isidora Alfaro (CHI)
Men’s +90 kg
1. Kanta Ueyama (Burbank, Calif. / LA Tenri Judo)
2. Franck David Moussima Ewane Elouti (CAN)
3. Thiago Gabriel Santos (BRA)
3. Ra Imaru Holozet (PYF)
5. Edgar Molina (ARG)
Women’s +70 kg
1. Olivia Oliveira (BRA)
2. Rhadi Ferguson (Tampa, Fla. / High Noon Judo)
3. Emily Harris (CAN)
3. Ana Robledo (ARG)
