COLORADO SPRINGS - Ten Colorado athletes won medals last weekend at the USA Judo National Championships at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas and three were named to the the team that will compete in the Pan American Judo Union Championships 23th-28th, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The Pan Am Championships is the first of five Olympic qualifying tournaments to be held in the Americas prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Top-ranked Ryan Reser (Security, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) won the 73kg division.  Ryan had one of the shortest final matches in his defeat of Radu Brestyan (Medway, Mass./Pedro’s Judo Center), attacking from the start and throwing the 2006 New York Open Champion within the first 30 seconds of the match with te guruma (hand wheel) for the win.

Reser, the #8-ranked athlete in the world after his two silver medal World Cup wins in March, also received the Outstanding Male Competitor Award and was named to the Pan Am Team.

In International Masters competition for athletes over 30 years of age, Mahmoud Mani (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn Judo Club) won the Male 40-44 yrs., 66kg  division in convincing fashion, defeating his four opponents by Ippon (instant win, like a knockout in boxing or pin in wrestling) and was named the Outstanding Male Competitor in the Masters Tournament.

Djamaldin Aliev ( Greenwood Village , Colo. /Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) claimed his first national title, defeating U.S. Open silver medalist Denis Utkin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Starrett Judo) in the 100kg final.  Aliev, a 2005 World Team member, came into the event ranked #2 and had to participate in best of three match fight-off for the team slot.  He  defeated Utkin twice more to secure his spot on the Pan Am Team.

In the men’s +100kg division, Joel Brutus (Hart, N.J./NY Athletic Club) made a mark in one of his first major tournaments as a U.S. citizen, defeating  top-ranked Kirk Hoffmann (Security, Colo./Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site) in the final.  Hoffmann then defeated the five-time Pan Am medalist in the first match of their fight-off, after which Brutus withdrew with an injury, securing his spot on the Pan Am Team.

Heidi Moore ( Englewood , Colo. / Denver Judo) was a double medallist in the tournament, winning bronze and silver medals in the Women's 78kg and Open divisions, respectively. 

Women 44kg    

3. Alexa Liddie ( Colorado Springs , Colo. /Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Women 78kg

3. Heidi Moore ( Englewood , Colo. / Denver Judo)

Women Open

2. Heidi Moore ( Englewood , Colo. / Denver Judo)

Men 60kg

3. Hector Galloza ( Colorado Springs , Colo. /Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Men 66kg             

3. Kenneth Hashimoto ( Thornton , Colo. / Northglenn Judo Club )

5. Joshua O'Neil (Colorado Springs/Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Men 73kg

1. Ryan Reser (Security, Colo. /Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Men’s 100kg

1. Djamaldin Aliev ( Greenwood Village , Colo. /Olympic Training Center USA Judo National Training Site)

Men +100kg           

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

Men’s Open

2. Bandi Davaadorj (Mongolia/Denver, Colo./ Denver Judo)

Male 40-44 yrs, 66kg
1. Mahmoud Mani (Westminster, Colo./Northglenn Judo Club)

 USA Judo contributed to this report.