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USA Judo announces qualifiers for U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo

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by Nicole Jomantas

USA Judo Announces Qualifiers for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo, June 13-14 in Las Vegas

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - USA Judo is pleased to announce the top eight athletes in each of 14 Olympic weight divisions who are eligible to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Judo, June 13-14 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

This year's event will be held for the first time simultaneously with the Trials for USA Wrestling and is expected to be one of the most exciting sporting events in the United States as athletes fight to win one of as many as 14 weight divisions in judo and 18 Olympic wrestling weight classes in the three Olympic styles (men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman, women's freestyle).

Fans may purchase tickets by visiting
http://www.usawrestlinglasvegas.com

"This is a great opportunity for us to showcase judo to the wrestling community in the U.S. We have had some great success with wrestlers moving into judo and making an impact in our sport," said USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez (Colorado Springs, Colo.) "This is indeed a perfect Olympic Trials marriage and it will all happen in Las Vegas! I have had the opportunity to put on events with USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender and his staff in the past, and I know that they put on first-class tournaments. This is a win-win proposition for both judo and wrestling!"

Athletes were selected based on their rankings on the USA Judo Senior Elite National Roster at the conclusion of the 2008 USA Judo Senior National Championships, April 11-12 in Virginia Beach, Va.

Athletes have until May 16 to accept or decline their invitation to Trials as well as to declare which weight they will compete in if they have qualified in multiple divisions. If an athlete declines his or her spot, the opportunity to compete will be offered to the next highest ranked athlete on the roster.

A complete roster of athletes eligible to compete in the Trials is as follows:

Men

60 kg/132 lbs.
1. Taraje Williams-Murray (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
2. Nick Kossor (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
3. Aaron Kunihiro (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
4. Josh O'Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
5. Jeff Sato (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
6. Jeff Fujimoto (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Dan Gomez (College Station, Texas / Texas A & M Judo)
8. Miguel Ballesteros (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

66 kg/145.5 lbs.
1. Taylor Takata (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
2. Kenny Hashimoto (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
3. Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
4. Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)
5. Justin Flores (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
6. Josh O'Neil (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
7. Jeff Fong (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
8. Daniel Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tenri)

73 kg/160.5 lbs.
1. Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
2. Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho / Western Idaho Judo Institute)
3. Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
4. Radu Brestyan (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
5. Nick Delpopolo (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
6. Bobby Lee (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
7. RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen's Judo)
8. Bill Shanahan (Rexford, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

81 kg/78.75 lbs.
1. Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen's Judo)
3. Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
4. Andrew Hung (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
5. Ross McBaisey (Atlanta, Ga. / Emory Judo)
6. Jose Bencosme (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Davor Vasiljevic (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
8. Danny Satinsky (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen's Judo)

90 kg/198 lbs.
1. Garry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
2. Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Brian Olson (Colorado Springs, Colo. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Landry Ambouroue (North Richland Hills, Texas / Ruben Martin Judo Training Center)
5. Jacob Larsen (Santa Rosa, Calif. / Redwood Coast Judo)
6. David Ellis (Roselle Park, N.J. / Cranford Judo)
7. Eric Duus (Saratoga, Calif. / Stanford Judo)
8. Atsushi Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

100 kg/220 lbs.
1. Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
2. Christian Aarona (Waimanalo, Hawaii / Makiki Seidokan Judo Club)
3. Djamaldin Aliev (Denver, Colo. / Denver Judo / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Dariusz Mikolajczak (Brooklyn, N.Y. / NYAC / Legrosports Starrett)
5. Shintaro Higashi (Scarsdale, N.Y. / NYAC Kokushi Budo Institute)
6. Michael Barnes (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Brian Picklo (Mustang, Okla. / USA Stars)
8. Victor Jean-Baptiste (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Mushakan Dojo)

+100 kg/Over 220 lbs.
1. Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)
2. Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
4. Jonathan Leonhardt (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
5. Derek Alef (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Santa Ynez Valley Judo)
6. James "Brewster" Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
7. Conor Driscoll (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
8. Michael Prieditis (Fayetteville, N.C.)

Women

48 kg/105.5 lbs.
1. Sayaka Matsumoto (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)
2. Natalie Lafon (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
3. Ann Shiraishi (San Francisco, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute)
4. Angela Creutzberger (Ballston, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
5. Katelyn Bouyssou (Hope, R.I. / Mayo Quanchi Judo)
6. Diana Yoshida (Dallas, Texas / Dallas Judo)
7. Lisette Abad (San Jose, Calif. / After-School All-Stars)
8. Kayla Hall (Granite City, Ill. / USA Stars)

52 kg/114.5 lbs.
1. Anna Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
2. Tracy Nagai (Bellevue, Wash. / Budokan Judo)
3. Nicki Schultheis (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
4. Ann Shiraishi (San Francisco, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute)
5. Chrissy Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tokai)
6. Mindy Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tokai)
7. Grace Ohashi (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
8. Tara Clark (Livermore, Calif. / Amador Judo)

57 kg/125.5 lbs.
1. Valerie Gotay (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen)
2. Carrie Chandler (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
3. Hannah Martin (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
4. Anna Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
5. Janine Nakao (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
6. Hana Carmichael (Wellington, Fla. / Budokan Judo)
7. Michelle Hagerty (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
8. Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

63 kg/138.75 lbs.
1. Marti Malloy (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
2. Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
3. Janine Nakao (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
4. Paola Genao-Butler (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)
5. Ashlie Martini (Chicago, Ill. / Tohkon / Victorious Judo)
6. Hannah Martin (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
7. Kristen Allan (Springfield, Va. / Sport Judo)
8. Christal Ransom (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

70 kg/154 lbs.
1. Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
2. Katie Sell (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen)
3. Tomoyo Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)
4. Jaclyn Feuerschwenger (Linden, N.J. / Cranford Judo)
5. Jennifer Tutass (El Cerrito, Calif. / Cunningham's Judo)
6. Katie Mocco (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
7. Helen Delpopolo (Westfield, N.J. / Cranford Judo)
8. Natalie Laursen (Livermore, Calif. / Amador Judo)

78 kg/171.75 lbs.
1. Katie Mocco (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
2. Nina Cutro-Kelly (San Antonio, Texas / Universal Judo)
3. Molly O'Rourke (El Cerrito, Calif. / East Bay Judo Institute)
4. Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio / Shudokan Judo Club)
5. Kayla Harrison (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE)
6. Nikki Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas / Fort Worth Judo)
7. Marina Lambert (Chesapeake, Va. / Washington Judo)
8. Lorey Edwards (Lorain, Ohio / Chu To Bu)

+78 kg/Over 171.75 lbs.
1. Heidi Moore (Englewood, Colo. / Denver Judo)
2. Melinda Swanson (Honolulu, Hawaii / Hawaii Tokai)
3. Brittni Bradford (Tampa, Fla. / El Mambi Judo)
4. Lorey Edwards (Lorain, Ohio / Chu To Bu)
5. Nanoushka St. Pre (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Legrosports Starrett)
6. Toni Geiger (Dumont, N.J. / Tech Judo)
7. Janelle Snider (Latham, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)
8. Andi Bongert (Dubuque, Iowa / Sioux City Judo Club)

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