Member News

March 10, 2007

Aaron Cohen (third from right) won his second New York Open title, pinning Harry St. Leger (second from right) in the final.

Rick Hawn (second from right) won a silver medal in his first major competition in the 90kg division.

The Americans earned three 66kg medals as Jeremy Liggett (left) and Taylor Takata (second from left) won bronze medals and Kenny Hashimoto (far right) won a silver.

Adler Volmar won a silver medal at 100kg.

Ryan Reser (left) won bronze in the 73kg division.

Daniel McCormick (far left) and Anthony Turner (second from left) won bronze medals in the +100kg division and Kirk Hoffmann (far right) took home the silver.

Taraje Williams-Murray (second from right) won the 60kg division in his first tournament since moving from 66kg.

Ryan Reser (blue) throws Eduardo Novoa (CHI) in the 73kg repechage. Photo Credit: Lou DiGesare / www.realjudo.net.

Aaron Cohen (white) goes for a throw against Harry St. Leger (blue) in the final of the 81kg division.

A battle of the former National Champions: Kirk Hoffmann (2005, white) beat Joel Brutus (2006) in the +100kg semifinal.

Taraje Williams-Murray (blue) and Gonzalo Ibanez (CAN) take to the mat during the 60kg semifinal.

Cohen and Williams-Murray Win the New York Open

(New York City, N.Y.) – Two U.S. athletes were among the gold medal winners at the New York Open on Saturday.

This year’s tournament included 154 players from more than 20 nations fighting for gold at the New York Athletic Club as well as the $1,000 prize given to the winner of each division

Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y. / NYAC / Spartak Sports Club) announced his return to the 60kg division by winning his first tournament at the lightest weight after fighting 66kg for the past year.

An Athens Olympian, Williams-Murray looked good in his first foray back in the division, defeating 2007 Belgian Open Champion Sergio Pessoa Jr. (CAN) after a first-round bye and then earning another win in the quarter-finals over two-time Canadian Champion Gonzalo Ibanez. 

Williams-Murray’s semifinal match went down to the last seconds as he threw Marek Krecielewski (POL) for ippon (instant win) at the buzzer.

In the final, Williams-Murray fought last year’s New York Open Champion Ronnie Talledo (Coral Springs, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai), throwing Talledo with a kata guruma (fireman’s carry) for ippon.

Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo) won his second New York Open title at 81kg.  After winning his first three matches by ippon, Cohen and Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo) battled back and forth before Cohen took St. Leger to the ground and pinned him to win the match. 

In the previous round, St. Leger threw four-time World Cup medalist Srdan Mrvaljevic (SCG) for the day’s biggest ippon when he sent Mrvaljevic flying with a huge uchimata (inner thigh throw).

Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) moved up from 81kg – the division he fought in at the Athens Olympic Games – to 90kg for the first time at a major event and quickly reaped the rewards of his decision when he won his first round bout against two-time European medalist Ricardo Echarte (ESP) in Golden Score.

In the quarter-finals, Hawn earned another major win, defeating Nyamchu Damdinsuren (MGL), the 2006 Asian Games Champion at 81kg and a silver medalist at the Hamburg Super World Cup in February.  Up by two penalties committed by Damdinsuren, Hawn threw him for a yuko late in the match.  Hawn was given a penalty toward the end of the five minutes, but still produced the win.

Hawn later lost in the final to David Zahirovic (FRA), a 2004 Belgian Open Champion at 81kg, to win the silver medal. 

Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site / +100kg) earned a crucial victory in the semifinals of the men’s heavyweight division when he beat Joel Brutus (Matawan, N.J. / NYAC), two penalties to one.  Brutus, who earned medals at the 2005 and 2006 Pan American Championships as a Haitian, officially received clearance to represent the United States in international competition on Thursday.  As Brutus beat the top-ranked Hoffman at the 2006 Senior Nationals, he is considered one of the top contenders for the 2007 Pan American Games and World Teams.

In the final, Hoffmann fought through to the last minute before he lost by ippon to Joao Schlittler (BRA), the 2007 Budapest World Cup medalist who defeated eventual bronze medalists Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE) and Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / IntoCombat) earlier in the day. 

Turner and Brutus were slated to fight for bronze; however, Brutus withdrew from the event and finished fifth.

The Americans took four of the top six positions in teh 66kg division.  Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. / Northglenn Judo) had the highest finish, earning a silver medal after losing in the final to Hashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar (MGL).  

Earlier in the day Tsagaanbaatar defeated 2006 Senior National Champion Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen) and Senior Nationals runner-up Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute).

Hashimoto and 2006 Junior World Team member Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center) had fought a Golden Score match in the semis that Liggett lost on a shido (penalty) for noncombattivity. 

Determined not to find himself in the same situation in the bronze medal match, when Liggett and Torra went into Golden Score, Liggett attacked consistently from the start, but neither he nor Torra could earn a score and the match was awarded to Liggett on referees’ decision at the end of the 10-minute match. 

Takata, last year’s 66kg Champion, and Sasha Mehemedovic (CAN) met in the other bronze medal match, just as they did at the 2006 Pan American Championships where Mehemedovic earned the win.  This time, however, Takata won the match and the bronze medal.

In the 100kg division, Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami) advanced to the final round after a semifinal win by a penalty over former Junior World Team member Micah Bellamy (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center). 

In the final, though, Scott Edward (CAN) threw Volmar with an uchimata (inner thigh throw) for ippon.  Meanwhile, Bellamy lost in the bronze medal match to Alex Aguiar (BRA) to finish fifth.

In the men’s 73kg division, former German National Champion Toni Lettner threw Leonardo Alan (Coral Springs, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai) with a sumi gaeshi (sacrifice throw) to win the gold medal.

Earlier in the day, Lettner threw three-time World Cup medalist Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center) and two-time Pan Am Champion Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State Unviersity) for ippon in the preliminary rounds.

Reser fought back through the repechage to beat Edwin Vallejo (COL) to win bronze.  Vallejo racked up three early penalties before Reser threw him for a waza-ari (half-point) to close out the match. 

Jefferson, however, lost to Tomasz Krecielewski (POL) in the bronze medal match and finished fifth. 

Complete results are as follows:

Men’s 60kg

1. Taraje Williams-Murray (Bronx, N.Y. / NYAC / Spartak Sports Club)

2. Ronnie Talledo (PER / Coral Springs, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai)

3. Sergio Pessoa Jr. (CAN)

3. Marek Krecielewski (POL)

5. Bastien Dressy (FRA)

5. Gerhard Zeitler (GER / Wakefield, Mass. / Pedro’s Judo Center)

Men’s 66kg

1. Hashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar (MGL)

2. Kenny Hashimoto (Thornton, Colo. / Northglenn Judo)

3. Jeremy Liggett (Glenville, N.Y. / NYAC / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center)

3. Taylor Takata (Harlingen, Texas / USA Judo National Training Site at Harlingen)

5. Nate Torra (El Cerrito, Calif. / NYAC / East Bay Judo Institute)

5. Sasha Mehmedovic (CAN)

Men’s 73kg

1. Toni Lettner (GER)

2. Leonardo Alan (BRA / Coral Springs, Fla. / Ki-Itsu-Sai)

3. Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

3. Tomasz Krecielewski (POL)

5. Edwin Vallejo (COL)

5. Chuck Jefferson (San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University)

Men’s 81kg

1. Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo)

2. Harry St. Leger (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Starrett Judo)

3. Tariel Minasashvili (GEO)

3. Srdjan Mrvaljevic (SRB)

5. Georg Schels (GER)

5. Nicolas Bernard (FRA)

Men’s 90kg

1. David Zahirovic (FRA)

2. Rick Hawn (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE)

3. Robert Edward (CAN)

3. Frederick Jaskiewicz (CAN)

5. Wiktor Tworzydlo (POL)

5. Ricardo Echarte (ESP)

Men’s 100kg

1. Scott Edward (CAN)

2. Adler Volmar (Coral Springs, Fla. / USA Judo National Training Site at North Miami)

3. Guillaume Cavalli (CAN)

3. Alex Aguiar (BRA)

5. Artur Gasparyan (ARM)

5. Micah Bellamy (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center)

Men’s +100kg

1. Joao Schlittler (BRA)

2. Kirk Hoffmann (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

3. Daniel McCormick (Wakefield, Mass. / Team FORCE)

3. Anthony Turner (Miami, Fla. / IntoCombat)

5. Yuri Polovynkin (UKR)

5. Joel Brutus (Matawan, N.J. / NYAC)