Local Judo Team Stands Out At Junior Olympics
July 21-22, 2007,
San Antonio, Texas
As the 2007 USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships got underway, the team from Ippon Judo Dojo, of Lakewood Washington, broke into cheers at the announcement that their alumni, Travis Stevens of Tacoma, competing on the same day at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had just won the gold medal. Inspired by this news, the team of nine from Ippon Judo Dojo, Stevens’s home town dojo, then went on to win an amazing five Junior Olympic gold medals and three silvers.
On day one, fourteen-year-old Joshua Villani, who beat the previous year’s quadruple crown winner and took the gold (Boys Juvenile A, 53 kg), was recognized as that day’s Outstanding Judoka (the equivalent of an MVP) by USA Judo. The highlight of day two was seventeen-year-old Jared Sterling’s win over Aaron Kunihiro, a two-time Senior National Champion, in the Boys IJF Junior 60 kg division. Sterling’s spectacular leg picks earned him the Best Technique award for the day by USA Judo.
Other gold medal winners were seven-year-old Isaac Harai (Boys Bantam 3, 23 kg), ten-year-old Christian Villani (Boys Intermediate 2, 34 kg), and seven-year-old Jasmine Parker-Borrero (Girls Bantam 2, 30 kg). Taking the silver were nine-year-old Mychayla Villani (Girls Intermediate 1, 30 kg), eleven-year-old Kiaya Van Scoyoc (Girls Intermediate 2, 60 kg), and eighteen-year-old Anthony Haskins (Boys IJF Junior, +100 kg), who is also this year’s USA Judo Collegiate National Champion.
Ippon Judo Dojo’s head coach, Jason Harai says, “I expected our team to do well, but this weekend’s performance was like a dream. These kids all worked hard, and it’s nice to see that paying off.”
Jared Sterling, Joshua Villani, Christian Villani, Mychayla Villani, and Isaac Harai aren’t done yet. They will represent the United States in the USA Judo Junior U.S. Open, in Fort Lauderdale, FL this weekend, July 28-29. Coach Harai says, “I look forward to seeing what these kids can do on the international level.”
